A Bond That Can't Be Severed
by glo1196
Summary: My entry into the "2014 Ficathon Entry." They were so close, but now he's missing and it's up to her to find him. This time it's his past that's hurled them into danger. A 6X23 continuation fic. with lots of angst, a riveting case with twists and turns and our favorite crime fighting couple.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my 2014 Ficathon Entry. It is going to be a pretty long, angsty story, but definitely Caskett. I refuse for anything but a happily ever after, though it won't be quick. Oh, and there won't be any amnesia or dreams involved! I hope you guys enjoy, stick around and get a chance to review!**

_"That's what the great love stories are all about, right, beating the odds?"_

_"Well maybe it is a sign. A sign that ours is a great love story. Cuz what's a great love story without obstacles to overcome. Every fairy tale has them. Terrible trials that only the worthy can transcend. But you can't give up. That's the deal. We want the happy ending... we can't give up."_

Kate dropped the phone as she raced out of the room, oblivious to the stunned presence of Alexis, Lanie, and Martha. She had instantly gone numb to the world around her. Her heart shattered into an insurmountable number of jagged pieces that pierced every inch of her body and soul. The only thought she had was that she needed to get to him, she needed to be close to him. Her mind flooded with images of him, of his words, of her everything he meant to her.

The Rolls slowed as it approached the emergency vehicles that blocked the road. She realized she didn't even remember giving the driver directions or any of the ride.

Back in the room Lanie picked up the phone and listened in absolute terror to the details that had sent her friend running. Tears streaked down her face as she closed her eyes and offered a silent prayer for friends. Rocked with emotion, she clutched the armoire beside her for support before she turned to speak to his family.

"Lanie, what's wrong?" It's Alexis who asked.

"Your Dad's been in an accident, just a few minutes from here. An anonymous driver called it in. The police and fire department are already there, they've identified your father's car from its license plate. It's on fire, if he didn't get out there is no way he could have survived. They are searching the area as we speak. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."

Martha sat on the bed in stunned silence, tears streaked down her face. This was every mother's worse nightmare. She watched her granddaughter pace angrily across the room.

"It doesn't mean he's dead. This is my Dad we're talking about. He isn't dead." Alexis walked over to her grandmother. "Grams, he can't be dead. Not Dad, Grams." The Broadway Diva looked into her grand-daughters eyes and Alexis burst into tears, as her grandmother drew her close.

Lanie, pulled herself together, wiped her eyes and decided to take charge and make some important decisions. "I'm going to find the boys and Gates. We need to get to the scene; we can help. Kate's there by herself. She'll need us. I'm going to find Maddy and Jenny so they can tell the guests what's happened." Martha looked up and nodded her approval. Lanie ran out of the room. She tried to compose herself as she approached the beautiful wedding reception area that was to be the beginning of her best friends "happily ever after."

Ryan and Esposito were both still seating guests, when Lanie spotted them. Esposito nudged Ryan as Lanie approached, she was obviously upset.

"Lanie, what's wrong? Where is everyone?" Ryan asked as he impatiently looked over her shoulder for the rest of the wedding party.

"Castle's been in a terrible accident. We don't know..." She breaks down into tears again. "His car is burning. We don't know if he made it, Javi. Castle might be dead." She managed before the tears resumed and Espo wrapped his arms around her.

Lanie shuddered but, with a surprisingly strong voice, managed to say, "We need to get these people out of here. We need to get Jim, and Gates up into the room. Kate's gone, she took the Rolls to the accident scene alone. We need to get there. Someone get Maddy and Jenny to get the information out to the guests while we go help Kate. Tell them to call Gina at Black Pawn too. Discretion is of utmost importance here."

The Rolls skidded to a sudden stop in front of the multitude of emergency vehicles. Kate could smell the burning wreckage before she actually saw it. She opened the door, and was stunned by the intense heat that kept her rooted to her spot. After a stuttered breath she gathered up her dress and ran towards the smoke and debris

Her mother's beautiful dress, it had finally felt like a good omen that it had fit so perfectly.

She froze as she rounded one of the police cars and fixated on the car engulfed in flames at the bottom of the embankment. Her mind registered the raging inferno and everything stopped: her breath, her heart, she couldn't move. The smoke and heat stung her eyes. Flames had totally engulfed the Mercedes and she immediately recognized the Firefly decal on the back bumper. She turned quickly and stared into the back of the empty ambulance.

"No." The word escaped her lips on a breath as she took a good look at the wreckage again. She took a few tentative steps towards the car, and an officer grabbed her arm.

"Ma'am you can't go over there!" She shrugged his arm off, this time she tried to run forward. "Ma'am it's a potential crime scene you can't go over there, it's dangerous."

"Ms. Beckett." The use of her name startled her for a moment and she looked up into Chief Brady's sympathetic eyes. "We need to let the fire burn itself out. There's nothing we can do. Go back to the house, and we'll call you as soon as everything is under control here, and we have some information for you."

"You know I can't do that. I need to know if he's in there Chief Brady. This is our wedding day, I'm supposed to be married to him. I need to know." The Chief maneuvered to place himself between Kate and the car. His two officers blocked her escape routes On either side. She repeatedly pushed against the chief pleading, "Please, I just need to know. I need to know. Please."

"Behind her she heard the opening and closing of doors and approaching footsteps.

"Katie," her father's called out to her and in that moment she's totally was consumed by every emotion that had been threatening to overtake her. Her body shook with uncontrolled fear as she took another run at the car. This time it was Esposito' arms that wrapped firmly around her, and pulled her back. "I won't let you do that, Kate. Kick and scream all you want. I won't let you go."

For an instant her mind traveled to the time Castle had said those exact words as he carried her out of the airport hangar. That time she had left behind her Captain, this time she would be leaving Castle behind. No!

"Please Espo? I can't leave him." The pain in her voice tore through them. She struggled in vain against Espo's stronger grip.

Her father joined the effort to hold her back when he begged, "Katie, please?"

"No, no please no! It can't happen again, Daddy. I need him! Please let me go! I don't want to be without him!" In that moment she was the 19 year old daughter, who tried so hard bury all the pain and grief of her mother's murder. Desolation flowed over her when she realized there was no place deep enough for her to bury the amount of pain and devastation coursing through her now. It swallowed her whole.

It's her fathers arms that kept her from falling. Personally knowing the excruciating pain she's endured, he rocked her in an attempt to soothe her like he did when she was young. "Dad I love him! I never told him enough. I deserve to be there not him! Oh God, please! Why did I ever think I deserved him?"

Behind them the rest of their non-traditional family stood watching one of the strongest people, they would ever know, fall apart. Lanie turned into Esposito's arms and sobbed openly. There wasn't a dry eye among them as their hearts broke for the couple.

Alexis ran from her grandmother's arms and carefully approached Kate and Jim. She tentatively wrapped her arms around Kate's waist.

Kate looked down, mascara running down her face, blotchy eyes, tears streaked across her cheeks and draws the young woman to her.

"I'm sorry Alexis, I'm so sorry. It should have been me. I'm so sorry!" Her words are weak and mumbled now. All strength and confidence having completely abandoned her.

"Don't say that Kate. This isn't your fault. Please, don't give up hope." She begged her. "Dad wouldn't want you to. I need you to be positive, for me," She placed her head on Alexis' and drew the girl closer.

"I love you father, Alexis. I've never loved anyone like I love him."

Kate refused to leave the scene until the fire had been extinguished. They stayed with her wanting to see for themselves if there had been a body in the drivers seat. When the fire had been extinguished Gates, Ryan and Espo followed CSU down to the car and looked inside. They apparently saw evidence of human remains in the front seat. Their bodies cringe back from the car, then Ryan turned toward her, the tears in his eyes washed away her last hope. That's when the threatening blackness crept over her heart and soul and swallowed her whole.

Thankfully her father caught her before she hit the ground. Espo carried her to the car. On the way back to the house Martha and Alexis sat on either side of her. Kate's head cradled gently against Martha's shoulder and her hand tightly clenched in Alexis'.

**This will have weekly updates, with longer chapters (hopefully). Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - /strongstrongTumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I hope you all enjoy this one as well. I wanted to show the strong bond this makeshift family has forged. How Well they know each other, that they know exactly what to do to help. I hope I don't disappoint. We will learn more about Castle, in the coming chapters. So please don't worry. I hope you're all along for the ride! Thank you for reading! Is it September yet? My 2014 Ficathon Entry! Thanks dtrekker for the awesome cover art!**

_Even on __the worst days there is a possibility for joy._

_ ~ Katherine Beckett_

She stood immobile and watched as the setting sun greeted the darkened ocean from the window. Everything was a haze, a nightmare she couldn't wake up from. She didn't remember the ride back to the house, or how she had gotten to their bedroom. Unwanted images of his car burning in the ditch, flashed relentlessly through her thoughts.

Outside, the wedding venue had been torn down, piles of tables and chairs littered the manicured yard, and the caterers waited patiently for the trucks to haul it all away. Soon there would be no trace of what would have been their wedding.

The sudden silence in the room washed over her and reminded her that it had always been quiet on this side of her wall. Outside the darkness of the night-time ocean mirrored the darkness that ebbed it's way through her heart. The tears had dried, but they would undoubtedly re-surface when she was left alone, in his bed, with his scent and her memories.

Martha and Lanie talked, but she couldn't make herself listen. It was the kind of talk done when silence would have been far worse, but she remained lost in her own thoughts.

"Katherine, Dear," Martha said as she approached her, and gently laid a hand on her arm. "Maybe, we should help you get out of that dress?"

"Come on Kate, let's get you into something more comfortable." Lanie suggested. She realized she had no idea how long she had been standing in that room, and she needed to get out of the dress.

She glanced down at her mother's beautiful dress, it had fit like a glove when her original dress was ruined. It had felt like a positive omen at the time. Like her mother had looked down on her and sent her blessing. Now it was soot stained, torn at the hem, and ruined by the horrific memories of the day.

She didn't move as Martha's fingers nimbly released each of the tiny pearl buttons down the back of the dress. Lanie plucked the hairpins out of her hair with care, when she was done she handed Kate a brush. She hung up the dress in the closet and brought her over some comfortable clothes she had found in a drawer. Then she excused herself and went to check on Alexis and the rest of the wedding party.

The silence in the room was deafening. There just weren't any words left in her. It wasn't until Kate heard a stuttered sob and turned to look into the older woman's tear rimmed eyes, that the torrent of emotions she had held at bay all afternoon ravaged through her.

"I'm sorry, Martha. You've been so good to me." Kate wrapped her arms around her would be mother in law. "You're hurting too, and here you are worrying about me."

Martha led Kate to the bed and sat on the edge. She took Kate's hands in hers. "Castle women are strong, Kate. When faced with adversity we stand strong. We do what has to be done. Richard was married twice before he found you, and those earrings sat in a box each time. He never knew what love was until you. He picked you, and you'll always be family, with or without a wedding. It's what he wanted, more than anything. It's what I want."

The tears streamed down both women's faces as they held each other. "Martha, it doesn't feel real to me. I feel like I'm in a dream, and any moment he's going to walk through that door. This is something you would see in a bad episode of One Life To Live. I need him Martha. I don't know how to exists without him anymore. How will our lives continue?"

"None of us do, Katherine." Martha said through trembling lips. The women wrapped their arms around each other, both lost in their own thoughts and memories.

As they parted, Kate reached up to remove the stunning sapphire earrings, but Martha stilled her hands. "Keep them for now, Kate. They'll remind us of the strength we all have within us, and help us get through this."

Downstairs, Gates and the boys had been on the phone all afternoon trying to get as much information as possible. The remains found at the accident were being sent to the local ME who, out of professional curtesy, had agreed to let Lanie assist in the autopsy the next morning. Espo, Ryan and Gates offered the Hampton PD their assistance, and the help was gratefully accepted. The next morning they would all go out to the scene, then to the police dept. to see the any evidence that would have been collected. Lanie would head to the Coroner's office first thing in the morning.

Jim Beckett and Jenny had thrown together a simple pasta meal for everyone, because the wedding party hadn't eaten all day. Jim marveled at the small but strong family his daughter had become part of, as he prepared the meal. The commitment, loyalty and love of this hodgepodge group to his daughter and each other was incredible.

Kate and Martha walked down the stairs hand in hand, as the crew of the 12th watched them. Both woman had changed, washed their faces and slipped on comfortable shoes. It was rare to see either of them so exposed. Everyone crowded around them eager to share what they had accomplished. After they thanked everyone for their help, Martha escorted everyone to their rooms for the night. Before she went upstairs she gave Kate a hug and kissed her cheek before whispering, "This is your family, Katherine."

Jim Beckett hung back as the group disappeared up the stairs. He had watched his daughter carefully, and saw as she began to build back the walls that Rick had carefully broken down over the last five years.

He walked over to her, and drew her into his arms. "I'm so sorry, Katie. If there is anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask. Please, don't let this do to you what it did to me. I hurt you, when you needed me most, because I was too selfish in my hurt to share it with anyone, even you. Don't let it destroy everything he worked so hard for you to have."

"Dad, I keep waiting for him to walk through those doors. Hoping this is all just a bad dream. He can't be gone, after everything we have gone through. We were finally here. He made me believe in fairytales, Dad. Look what good that did me!" Her tears came fast. "I love him. I love him more than I have ever loved anyone. He's everything. He didn't stop until he had broken down my walls. He saw me! I was happy."

Her sobs wracked through her body, all the hurt and pain steamrolled through her with unbridled intensity. She wanted to hurt something, wanted to kick, and scream at the unfairness of it all. Instead she emotionally fell apart in her father's arms.

"I knew a few months into him following you, that he was something special. Your stories became less critical, they made you laugh. I heard more about Castle then I did your boyfriends. You fought him for so long, Katie, but he loved you, and he never gave up. He brought out the best in you." Her father wiped away the tears still running down her face.

"I love him. I'll always love him."

"There is someone else who lost her world today. She needs you as much as you needed me. Don't let her down, Kate. She has you and Martha, and she will need you both. Alexis has been outside on that deck since we got here. I brought her food and made her eat. She didn't want to talk, but I'm not you. Don't let her stay out there alone." He hugged his daughter tightly one more time before he kissed her and started towords the stairs.

"I'm upstairs if you need me. Don't hesitate to ask for anything, Kate. This time I won't disappoint you." He walked up the stairs slowly. Kate saw the sadness in his eyes. So many years and the pain from losing her mother was never very far.

Alexis sat on the deck, her feet dangled over the side as she watched the waves crash against the shore. She had come out here the minute they came through the door. It was one of her dad's favorite places at the house. She sat and had begged, pleaded and bargained with any higher power who'd listen. Had prayed that this was all a nightmare. It just couldn't end like this, her father was finally happy. Alexis heard the slider open behind her.

"Is there room for one more?" Kate asked the young woman. She wanted to let Alexis know she was there for her. She didn't want her to think that her feelings in this weren't important. She painfully remembered how it felt to be in Alexis' shoes.

Alexis turns towards Kate, her eyes are filled with unshed tears, her lips trembled as she tried to voice her innermost fear. "Kate, is he really dead?"

Kate couldn't answer her. The question knocked the breath out of her, and she's stunned into silence. Her eyes filled with tears as she wrapped her arms around Alexis and rested her cheek on her head.

Kate wanted to tell her that he was alive. That there was hope and possibility, but she saw the scene and the Mercedes with her own eyes. There was no reason to think it wasn't Castle in the drivers seat, but she couldn't find it within herself to tell the girl he was dead. Alexis knew the answer to that as well as she did.

"Come inside, it's getting cold out here, and you need to change and get some rest." Kate offered Alexis her hand and headed in with her for the night. "Your Dad's so proud of you and everything you've become. You are the best thing that ever happened to him. You're the reason I let him in. He was real with you, not a spoiled, playboy, writer. He's a wonderful father to you, and it shows in the person you have become."

"Kate, you sound like you believe he is still alive."

" I'm not ready to let him go, Alexis. I can't see how he could have survived that crash. We saw the body, but I won't say those words until the all the proof is in front of me. Let me help you. I'm here for you, and if you don't want to be alone tonight. You can stay with me."

"I don't think I'm ready to go in there yet. That room is all, Dad. I'm going to go upstairs to my room." Alexis hugged Kate tightly. "Kate, you made Dad happy. He became a better Dad and a better person after he met you." Then she went upstairs.

Kate stood alone at the doorway to what was supposed to be their room. She walked across to his side of the bed, turned down the covers and crawled in. She wanted to surround herself with him tonight.

"Don't leave me Castle." She whispered into the dark room before she closed her eyes.

Kate tossed and turned all night. Nightmares plagued her, and the smell of him on his sheets teased her senses. Each time she woke she expected him to be lying beside her, watching her, and the tears would start again. It felt like she had just fallen asleep when her phone woke her up.

The picture of Lanie flashed across her screen. She swiped her finger across the screen and answered it. "Hi Lanie."

"He's alive Kate! Castle's alive! It wasn't him in the car. We matched the dental records, and the man in the car is also about 3 inches shorter than Castle. DNA isn't in yet, but Kate it's not Castle!"

**Don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this fic has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and Pintrest glo11962 I have a Castle board!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited and followed this story! I'm just completely blown away by your kind words. Thank you! I hope I can continue to draw you guys into this story. We'll find out more about who took Castle and why in the coming chapters. This is the first story I've ever written with a timeline and a** sort **of storyboard. I have a few wonderful people showing me the ropes. I hope I don't disappoint them. Castle is not in a good place this chapter, and that might not be changing for a while, but you know he's stronger than he looks, and way smarter than any of the bad guys. My 2014 Castle Ficathon Entry.**

_We all try. And try as we might to control things, sometimes bad things get in and it's not our fault._

_Richard Castle ~ Heat Wave_

Chapter 3

Pain, there was so much of it, it thumped red and angry, so he clawed desperately at the flimsy remnants of his unconsciousness to escape it. It was the sudden thought of Kate that catapulted him into reality.

"Kate," the word stumbled from his parched lips. "Kate!" An image of her as she waited for him, in a wedding dress, flashed through his mind. He tried to force his eyes open, but they were swollen shut. The inflamed flesh letting in just a sliver of sight through his right eye.

He struggled, only to have the familiar feel of stiff, plastic ties dig painfully into his sore wrists. His legs were similarly bound to the chair. A frayed rope fastened tightly across his exposed chest dug into tender bruised flesh. Every inch of his body screamed in agony. But it was the pain in his head that was debilitating.

The unexplained heaviness as he tried to lift his head from his chest worried him. Fiercely intense pain radiated from his nose and cheekbones to the back of his head. He was convinced that there were numerous broken bones in his face. A cough dislodged some of the dried blood that had formed along his tongue and the inside of his mouth, at least that explained the coppery taste that lingered there. He tried to spit it out, but it was useless. He simply didn't have the strength.

The cold dampness that seeped into his bones and the dank, musty smell, lead him to think he was in a basement. What little vision he had in his right eye had adjusted to the darkness of the room. With great effort he moved his head slightly in the direction of the light. The world seemed to move with him, as everything shifted, and bile burned high in his throat. There was a small window high on the wall, with so much grime that it obscured most of the light from outside. No amount of research he had ever previously done for his books prepared him for this.

Castle tried to think of the last thing he remembered. He had called Kate, told her that he was in possession of the papers and was twenty minutes away. They had exchanged "I love you's." Then he looked in his rear view mirror and spotted a black SUV that had raced dangerously close behind him, and tried to pass him. That was when the SUV side swiped him and the last thing he remembered was losing control of the car. After that, his memories became murky. There had been angry male voices, extreme pain, an explosion, then he woke up here with no concept of how much time had elapsed.

A floorboard creaked angrily above him, followed by heavy footsteps. They were the first sounds he'd heard since regaining consciousness. He tried to distinguish how many people could possibly be upstairs, but he couldn't focus.

The footsteps stopped, and he heard the creaking of a door. Voices suddenly echoed from above, followed by loud foot steps down the stairs behind him. For the first time since he'd woken up in this hell, fear overpowered his pain. He knew that in his current state there would be no escape, so he waited and prayed that Kate and the boys were looking for him.

He was startled by the jarring kick to his chair. It vibrated painfully thought his body. Someone grabbed his face to get his attention. The blood curtling scream that escaped his lips echoed off the damp cellar walls. His anger flared.

"What do you want from me?" He didn't recognize the face in front of him. He doubted the man thought he could see him.

A water bottle was pressed to his bleeding lips, water spilled down his throat as he greedily gulped mouthfuls. Castle swallowed as much as he could then spit the last bloodied mouthful defiantly at his captor. The man backhanded him, sending Castle's head reeling.

He felt the blood as it poured freely from his mouth and nose then dripped onto his bare chest. The blinding pain seared through him, and Castle fought to remain alert. Dark shadows crept around the edges of his consciousness. What little sight he had blurred, nausea churned deep in his stomach, and he welcomed the darkness.

"Too bad you missed your high society wedding, pretty boy. That mighty fine piece of ass didn't get the wedding night fucking she deserved. I'll gladly volunteer to get between those long ass legs of hers in your absence."

"You leave her alone!" He growled between clenched teeth. "Don't you touch her!" For a moment the adrenaline dulled his pain.

"If we thought he'd come for her as quickly as he'd come for you, we'd have had fun with her, wouldn't we boys?" He heard several of the men hum their approval.

"I bet she'd love good ol' fashioned gang bang with some real men. I bet those tits of hers would taste mighty fine." Castle struggled against his restraints. "Don't you worry yourself. We won't hurt your lady cop, and you're only good to us alive. If you don't behave though, we can always go to plan B."

"What do you want?" Castle growled as the adrenaline in his body began to falter. "I can get you money. Whatever you want I can get it for you." It hurt to move his jaw, thinking made his head hurt more. He couldn't concentrate, couldn't search for clues to help himself. Then he felt a prick on the back of his neck and something the asshole said fluttered at the edge of his consciousness before he welcomed the darkness, at least there'd be no pain.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&amp;B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Lanie, are you absolutely sure?" Kate asked as tears freely flowed down her face.

"Kate Beckett! Do you think I would do something like that to you? The man in the car was not Richard Castle. That man was at least three inches shorter, and the dental records don't match. There is no ID on him at all." For the first time in the last 24 hours Kate Beckett smiled as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"God, thank you Lanie. I'm going to go tell everyone the good news. Thank you!" It felt like she could finally take a deep breath.

Kate threw on Castle's favorite robe and proceeded to the kitchen where she heard signs of life. She stopped at the top of the stairs for a moment and watched what had become her family. Martha and Jim sat on either side of Alexis, who struggled with her emotions. Espo, Ryan and Jenny attempted to cook breakfast for the group. Captain Gates had told her that she was going early in the morning to the Hampton PD to talk to the Chief.

The feeling of belonging surged through her for the first time since she was nineteen. She watched this crazy makeshift family that she and Castle had brought together. They had been there for each other, making sure that no one was going through this alone. As she started down the stairs, everyone looked up at her. Her tears evident on her face, her arms dwarfed in Castle's large robe. Her family stared blankly at her in confusion.

Aware of her smile, when she reached the bottom of the stairs she called out, "Lanie, just called. The body in the car is not Castle's. The body is too short and the dental records don't match. DNA had not come in yet, but she is positive it's not Castle."

Alexis' body crashed against her with full force. Her arms wrapped around Kate's waist. Sobs racked Alexis' body as she pressed herself against Kate.

"I promise to do everything I can to find him Alexis. He will come home." Kate told the girl through her own tears, as she rubbed her back. "We'll find him, sweetie."

Kate watched as hugs were shared among the group, while she comforted Alexis. Ryan held up his cell to get her attention, and she motioned him to bring it to her.

"Beckett." She answered.

"Kate, this is Captain Gates. I need you to think back to yesterday. Do you remember what time you got the phone call about the accident?"

Kate thought about it. "Sir, Castle called me at about 3:30 to say he was about 20 minutes away. Right before the phone rang, we were discussing that it had been an hour since he called. So, it was around 4:30."

The silence on the other end of the phone was disturbing. "Sir?"

"Kate, the Hampton PD got a call reporting the accident by a local resident at 4:03. They arrived at the accident at 4:15, questioned the witness and secured the area. At 4:23 the fire dept. arrived. At 4:25 Officer Callahan called in the plates to see who owned the vehicle. The result came back at 4:31 and they called the Sheriff with the information. He got in his car to come talk to your family himself. He never made it there, because he drove by the scene and saw you there. No one from the Hampton PD made that phone call, Detective. Whoever called wanted you to go that accident scene."

There was another moment of silence as both women thought about who would do that. Kate broke the silence

"Sir, have you talked to the ME or Lanie? She called about 5 minutes ago to tell us that the body in the car wasn't Castle's. The body was too short, and the dental records don't match. There is something else going on here."

"Kate, stay there, I'm on my way." Gates replied, then hung up. Kate tried putting the pieces together, but, none of it made sense.

**A friendly reminder this story will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this fic has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board! Thank you again.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I have read and re-read each comment several times. I promise to get back to thanking you all individually after the next week or so. This is senior week for my twin daughters. They graduate from high school on Sunday. Last weekend was their prom! I can't believe that my youngest are soon going of to college. I'm just not ready to let go yet! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. The details and facts were a killer to research, and no one will probably notice...lol Please let me know what you think! I'm going to need it this week, and if there are any moms out their with suggestions on how to get through this week let me know! My entry in the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon!**

_Oh, you're in my veins_

_And I cannot get you out_

_Oh, you're all I taste_

_At night inside of my mouth_

_~Andrew Belle~_

The morning passed quickly with the relief everyone felt over Castle's body not being in the car. Speculations and theories abounded and with no hard facts the theories were discussed into meaninglessness while they waited impatiently for more news.

Gates arrived with Chief Brady as everyone finished with breakfast. Ryan, Espo and Kate walked onto the back patio with Chief Brady and Gates. They gathered around the table as Gates and Brady opened the folder they had brought with them, and laid out multiple crime scene photos. Kate's heart shattered as each picture was pulled out, but the picture with the charred remains of the Mercedes caught her breath, and she turned her eyes away. Even knowing he had not died in the crash, the picture quickly reminded her that Castle was still not safe.

"These are just some of the preliminary findings we have." Chief Brady started. He moved the photos of skid marks towards the team.

"These marks here," Brady rearranged the pictures then pointed to the closest one, "were made by Castle's Mercedes as he applied the brakes and was forced off the road and into the embankment. These tire marks, were most likely made by the car that ran him off the road." He pointed to the dark skids marks in the next picture.

Gates continued, "On her way home from shopping a local woman saw a black, four door, SUV speed past her in the opposite direction. She thought she remembered New York plates, but wasn't positive. A mile or so later she came upon the accident and called it into the station right away. The front of Mr. Castle's car was already on fire, when she got there. She never got out of her car."

The Chief continued, "We found tire tracks in the dirt to the left of the Mercedes, and imprints were made. They were consistent with the Pirelli Scorpion Zero Asimmetrico All Season tires used on upscale vehicles like Cadillac Escalades, which fits the description given by our witness. We are looking at any traffic cams, and registered vehicles in the area that fit the bill."

"CSU found something interesting. Right outside the drivers side door were two heel imprints, it was just the back of the shoe and the heel imprinted in the dirt. They are consistent with someone being taken out of the car and their feet dropping dead weight into the dirt. There are four inch drag marks after that. Shoe size was approximately a size 11 or larger. If there was more, it got obliterated by the emergency crews at the scene." Gates looked up into the hopeful eyes of Katherine Beckett.

"Detective Beckett, we also ran the telephone number that called you on your cell. As you can expect it was a burner phone, that's no longer in service. Can you remember anything at all distinctive about the voice? An accent, stutter, lisp?" The Captain asked.

"It was a male voice, no accent. It wasn't a young voice. Nothing that would make it stand out. Why would someone call me? Why wasn't the call made to Alexis or Martha?" She looked at Gates.

"Detective, you know the Hampton PD never notified you, and we need to know who did and why?" Chief Brady interjected. "Have you heard anything else from the ME on whose body it might have been in the car?"

"Nothing yet," Espo replied. "Lanie is there, she will definitely call as soon as they have anything new or definitive."

"With the information we have, we can conclude that Mr. Castle was run off the road, by a large, black SUV. He was them removed from his vehicle and his body replaced with someone else's. We still do not know if the car caught fire on it's own, or if it was intentionally set. We don't know," Gates continued, "who has Mr. Castle and why, or if he is ok."

Just then Chief Brady's phone rang. He walked away from the table as he spoke. After a few minutes he returned to the table and gathered the evidence photos. "I need to get back to the station. Something has come up that I need to take care of. Do you want me to send you copies of these detective?" He motions to the photos he shoved unceremoniously into the folder.

Kate nodded and offered a small smile. "Thank you, I'd appreciate that." Already the thought of her own board was forming in her head.

"If I have anything new for you, I'll call you as soon as I can." Brady acknowledged as he started towards the front door.

Kate stood and walked him to the door, Martha saw them and met them at the door. "Thank you for all your help Chief Brady." Martha said as she shook his hand. "We appreciate it."

He smiled and then turned towards Kate. "I'll let you know what we know as soon as I can. If you remember anything or have any questions don't hesitate to call. With everyone's help we will find him, Detective." She gave him a small smile as he walked away towards his squad car.

After everyone had gone back into the house, Kate and Gates sat outside by themselves for a bit.

"Sir, it seems like this is all a bad dream. Or some kind of vaudeville slapstick movie where everything goes wrong. How can so many things go wrong, in one wedding?"

Gates looks at her. "I know that your venue had to be changed at the last minute, and you found out that you had been married for the last 12 years, but what else?"

"It started with Castle's book tour getting cut short; he came home early. Which thank goodness it happened, because then we found out I was married. After that the original venue caught fire, my designer wedding dress was ruined when a pipe burst in the apartment above mine. Rogan wouldn't sign the papers."

"Kate has anyone looked into any of these unusual occurrences? Maybe we should get the boys to go back into the city and just look into all these strange incidences right before your big day. Maybe they aren't all coincidences? Who cancelled Castle's tour? Isn't that unheard of with his ex-wife? Burst pipes tend to happen in the dead of winter, and how did the FBI miss that you were married during your security checks? Did I hear the boys say that Rogan had quite an extensive rap sheet? Your security clearance was approved very quickly with all these inconsistencies. Something just doesn't add up? We should also look into people who would have a grudge against Castle, 3XK and Bracken both come to mind." Gates said as they both stood and walked toward the house to inform the boys of their new assignments.

"Kate, I'm not going to tell you that you can't work this case, because I'm not going to force you to lie to me. Just remember that you can't help him from behind bars, or from a hospital bed. You are my best detective and you need to keep your head on straight. I'll approve whatever time you need, and you have our services at your disposal. I have to return to the 12th tonight. We will keep working on our end. Please keep me updated. We will get him home." Kate wrapped her arms around her captain and gave her a hug.

"Thank you, Sir." She said as the woman walked through the front door to her car. For a moment she remembered the hard ass Captain that she instantly hated on her first day back from her leave of absence. They had all definitely come a long way since then.

Later that night as moon reflected on the calm ocean, Kate sat on the balcony outside their bedroom. Wrapped warmly in Castle's favorite plush robe, she prayed he was under the same stars, safe and sound. When it got too cold and windy to stay outside any longer, she turned, entered the bedroom and closed the French doors behind her. She stood staring into the room as memories of time shared in this room bombarded her.

As she finally climbed into the middle of the bed, she ran her hand over his side of the bed and pulled his pillow up against her. His scent enveloped her And a sob caught in her throat. Alone in the room she could finally let her guard down. She could be the scared fiancé not the tough detective. Tears streamed down her cheeks, as she whispered his name into the silent night, and finally succumbed to sleep.

In the middle of the night she startled from a dream where she had never met Castle. Her heart had pounded fiercely in her chest, at the thought. Never had she thought she would ever feel this way about another human being. He made her better, stronger. He challenged her and made her see everything she was missing. He made her believe in magic and love stories. There was no way anyone was going to take him away from her. She had lost her mother, but she'd be damned if she was going to lose him. She got up and walked into his study. There she pulled out his white board, and in no time had established a time line. She had once told Trapper John at the bank heist that, "She didn't look, she hunted," and that's exactly what she was going to do now.

When Martha finally found her the next morning, she was asleep at his desk. In her hand was a small picture of the two of them taken at his surprise birthday party. Behind her stood a white board with a detailed time line and his picture.

**Don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you to all who have reviewed, favorited and followed. It is greatly appreciated. A gentle reminder, fanfic writers known or obscure like me, only know people are reading and enjoying when you review and let us know. It is also a way of letting others know that the story is worth reading. Good stories sometimes fall by the wayside because of low reviews and we all miss out. So please, take the time to show your support. I hope you enjoy this chapter, read the end notes if you want to see where Castle is being held. Thank you to all who help me with this story! This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Ficathon.**

_I need you to know that our partnership, our relationship is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. You're an amazing man, and I love you with all of my heart. Always._

**Chapter 5**

The first thought that had filtered through the murky fog filling his head, was he had been drugged. A steady drumming beat pulsed painfully through his head, but it wasn't nearly as severe as the last time he'd woken. He wondered how long he'd been unconscious, time had started to blur, and he no longer new how much time had lapsed since he was driven off the road.

In an attempt to answer his own question he forced himself to move and discovered there was unexpected freedom to his movements. When he took the chance and opened his eyes he noticed that his arms and legs were shackled, but he was no longer restrained to a chair. He could move around the room. The relief at his newfound freedom quickly turned to fear when his muddled brain realized his captors believed that there was no fear of him escaping.

The swelling around both eyes had subsided enough for him to take in his surroundings. He had definitely been moved. From where he laid, he spotted the remnants of a bathroom in the other room. He'd been placed on an old dirty, spring coil, twin mattress, that was too small for his frame. The tiny room was musty and the stench of decay and mold was nauseating. The upper half of the walls were a dingy white color, the bottom half an institutional split pea green. The paint was either chipped or water damaged and moldy. The cracked gray tiles on the floor were reminiscent of old schools or hospitals. He struggled against the movement induced vertigo and managed to sit up and put his feet on the floor without puking. His knees burned in protest as the room spun around him. His gut wrenched and a burning bile rose into his mouth from the pain that consumed him. With considerable difficulty he forced himself to stand and stumbled to the nearest window.

When his equilibrium recovered enough to comprehend what he saw, Castle felt reality crumble around him. Before him laid the abandoned grounds of some type of institution. Trees and bushes were either wildly overgrown or eerily dead and decaying. The road leading to the building was cracked and littered with potholes and debris. To the left, a smaller brick building sported graffiti across the front entrance and the shattered windows on every floor revealed no life or light. Dead ivy clawed against the crumbling brick exterior. The silence was deafening, and his mind couldn't let go of the fact that this was the kind of place bad things happened in his books.

The room spun around him when he turned away from the window towards the only other exit in the room. He used the wall for support and dragged himself along it to the door. A desperate exploratory shove and kick proved that it was thick and obviously solid. The doorknob didn't turn when he tried it. The keyhole was for an old fashion skeleton type key. Maybe when his head felt better he could put some of his research to work, but that thought quickly dissipated when he felt his stomach lurch violently as the tendrils of fear stirred the bile that rose to his throat.

His legs gave out from under him as he sunk to the floor. He felt weak and nauseous, the pain in his chest and head increased as he became more conscious of his situation And the drug wore off.

His mind suddenly focused on the muffled sound of voices coming through the door. He could hear at least two, maybe mire men talking. He concentrated on their voices and was able to extract snippets of the conversation.

From what he gathered these men had purchased an old cargo plane in Canada. They had planned to load it with ammonium nitrate fertilizer collected over a period of time, mix it with Diesel fuel and then explode it just before it hit the track in front of the main straight grandstand during the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day. The death toll would be in the tens of thousands with thousands more injured. Something had gone terribly wrong a month before the race, and the plane had blown up killing many of their people. They suspected sabotage and had figured out who was responsible.

Castle closed his eyes, his head pounded with blinding pain, his chest ached. The thumping in his head increased and he clutched the wall behind him as the room spun. He couldn't understand what all this had to do with him. Why was he being held? They couldn't think he had anything to do with it. Something at the back of his thoughts was nagging him, but he couldn't grasp it with the pain he was in.

Darkness crept into the edges of his consciousness, he knew she'd be waiting there for him, so he closed his eyes and welcomed it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&amp;B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The precinct was always a busy place, but today it had been busier than usual. Officers and detectives not scheduled to work had volunteered in an effort to locate, Castle. Some detectives drove to the Hampton's to offer assistance. Others poured over traffic cams within a 10 miles of the accident. Everyone helped anyway they could.

Ryan had been at his desk, he'd just pulled Kate and Castle's marriage license application from the City Clerk's Office when something immediately caught his eye.

"Hey Javi, come take a look at this." Espo walked to Ryan's desk and looked over his partners shoulder.

"Ok, that's Beckett and Castles marriage license application, from the Clerk's Office. So?" He looked at Ryan not seeing anything out of the ordinary.

"Man, come on, look at the date; it says they got married March 18, 1997. Beckett was only 17 and a junior in high school when she was supposedly getting married. A minor under the age of 18 needs parental consent to get married in Nevada. I called, "Drive Through of Love" in Vegas and there was no record of a Rogan O'Leary and Katherine Houghton Beckett ever getting married there. I think that record is a fake. That resembled the kind of file they made for people in Witness Protection."

"You're right Bro, something's not right. How can that be?" Espo nods towards Gates office. "I think we should tell her. Maybe she can get to the bottom of this."

The boys stood and walked over to Gates' office, they knocked and were invited to enter. The door closed firmly behind them, as they shared what they had discovered. It wasn't long before Gates reached for her phone. She thanked them and dismissed them as she waited for the phone to be answered.

"Special Agent Jordan Shaw, please?" Gates asks.

"This is she."

"Agent Shaw, this is Captain Victoria Gates of the 12th precinct in New York City. My team here, talks very highly of you, and Captain Montgomery's notes on the Dunn case were impressive. I read about the Re-capitator case you were involved in, in Phoenix. I'm calling because we have a case you may be interested in helping us with."

"I'm listening."

"On the way to his wedding the groom was run off the road into an embankment and his car caught fire. His fiancé was called and told of the accident, but not by the police. It has been determined that the burned body is not that of the groom. It appears that the groom was kidnapped. We have evidence of conspiracy, their wedding was sabotaged from the get go."

"Kidnapping is always the jurisdiction of the FBI. You have a local office and didn't call them so there is more. What aren't you telling me?" Jordan asked.

"The grooms name is Richard Edgar Castle, the brides name is Katherine Houghton Beckett."

"You should have told me that up front. How is Kate holding up? She has had so much hardship in her life. We stayed in touch for a while after the Dunn case, but life got in the way. I'm beyond thrilled that those two finally got it together. I'm not currently on a case. I'll run this by my supervisor and call you back. No matter what, I'll help in any way I can." Jordan answered as she started looking up flights to New York on her computer.

"Well, let me know, and thank you Agent Shaw for whatever help you can offer." Gates hung up her office phone and stared out into the bustling bullpen at her staff. She prayed that this would end well.

Just as she is was about to return to the Bullpen, Gates' phone rang again. Interestingly enough it was Lanie Parrish. It's not often that the ME's office called her.

"Captain Gate's" she answered.

"Captain Gates, this is Lanie Parrish from the ME's office. We are at the Hampton ME's office and just got the DNA results from the body in Castle's Mercedes. The body in the car was that of Rogan O'Leary, Kate's ex-husband. We also found accelerant on the driver's side seat and on a few unburned fragments of his clothes."

Then there was silence as Lanie's words sank in.

**The place where Castle is being held does exist. It's called the King's Park Psychiatric Center located in King's Park, NY. It is just about one hour from the Hampton's and has been abandoned since 1996. If you Google it you will find tons of pictures of the place.**

**My new M rated fic can be found here s/10439180/1/Tick-Tick-and-a-Different-Kind-of-Boom Hope you enjoy it!**

****Please, don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm sorry this chapter took so long to go up. my twins graduated high school, we went to their college orientation, and I had a touch of writers block. I admit that this isn't probably the best chapter, but I hope you enjoy it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Those reviews help motivate me, I didn't want to let anyone down. To all who faved or put me on alert Thank You! I promise not to let this much time slip by again without updating. This is still my entry into the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon. Now, on with the show...**

_Kate laid on her side facing the open French doors. The ocean breeze made the sheer white curtains dance against the fading colors of the world beyond. His warm breath cascaded across her neck and over her shoulder, his fingers feathered across her shoulder, down her side, to the tip of her hip and back. Chills coursed down her spine and she moaned as her head dropped forward. Castle's mouth devoured the silky skin at the sensitive juncture at the back of her neck. His lips and hands had made her come undone so many times, yet it always seemed so new, so delicious._

_"Kate," his voice low and sexy at her ear. "I need you." His hips canted against the curve of her back, and she felt his need hard against the cheeks of her ass. She teased him as she ground herself against him. She was rewarded by a deep feral growl as his large hands kneaded her breasts. Kate's back arched as her body chased his hands. His other hand slithered between her legs and spread her folds. His middle finger dragged her wetness over the swollen nub, and her body instantly surrendered to him. Every inch of her needed him, in a way that she had never experienced before him. One touch and she had been his, and it had always been that way, from day one. There had been no stopping the inevitable collision._

_He possessed her, body and soul without question._

_The ache between her legs consumed her, heat coursed wildly through her veins. "Take me, Castle." She moaned as his fingers continued their assault on her body. "God, I need you."_

_He sheathed himself into her from behind and the angle made her gasp his name, her body trembled. "More." She moaned._

_His body encompassed hers and his rhythm was hard and even against her. He watched the honey licked curls sway across her back as he thrust deeply into her. He watched as tiny beads of sweat formed between her shoulder blades. He loved her wanton and free like this._

_"I love you, Kate. I'm never letting you go. Don't let me go." His voice was low and gravely. "Always, Kate Always." He murmured against her sweat slicked skin_.

His voice faded into the dark recesses of her mind. Her body arched for his touch, desperate and wanting, and in that instant between sleep and wakefulness her heart shattered. The pain so intense she'd gladly welcome Maddox's bullet instead.

She gasped for air between sobs as reality crashed around her. Her face buried in his pillow desperate for a wisp of his fading scent. Tears refused to spill as anger hummed through her veins, and she wanted to scream at every unearthly power for the epic tragedy her life was.

She needed to find him, every fiber of her knew he was alive and whoever had him, whoever did this would pay.

Kate got up and showered. It was late in the morning and Alexis and Martha had a ready left for the city. The women had discussed their plans over dinner. Martha and Alexis could not just sit and wait for news. They had to get back and continue on with their lives. Kate would keep them updated and would follow them back to the loft within a week, if nothing new surfaced at the Hampton's. Castle would have wanted it that way.

Kate stood in front of her murder board. Nothing added up. There were more unanswered questions than facts. They needed a new lead. It was just after noon time when Kate's phone had rung, and the Hampton PD logo flashed across her screen.

"Beckett." She answered with apprehension.

"Detective, this is Chief Brady. We received a call about a black SUV spotted at a vacant home, currently for sale at the outskirts of town. My men and I are about to go, if you'd like to meet us there."

Kate felt the thundering beat of her heart against her ribs as he rattled of the address. She immediately entered it into the GPS on her phone and ran out the door.

She didn't remember the drive out to the address Brady had provided. Her mind raced through all the possibilities. His unseeing eyes flashed before her eyes and her stomach lurched wildly. She shook the morbid image from her head. Upon arrival, she met with Brady and his men. They had observed no movement from inside the house or around the SUV. They waited patiently until the loud whooshing sound of a helicopter could be heard. The bird landed about a half mile away, and within minutes the small convoy could be seen approaching.

Brady informed Beckett that the FBI was now involved in the case. It wasn't until a familiar auburn head popped out of the black car that Kate let out a strained breath. "Detective Beckett, what can you tell me?"

"Agent Jordan Shaw, this is Chief Brady, he is heading the investigation here. He has all the details."

"Agent Shaw, Detective, at approximately 9:30 am this morning the owner of that home over there noticed that the SUV they saw yesterday afternoon was still parked at the house. She knew that the house was empty and had seen the black vehicle on several other occasions, but thought it was the realtor showing the house. She called this morning because it had been there since yesterday. We called the realtor and the house hasn't been shown in over two weeks. My deputies have been observing the home since 10:00 this morning and there has been no movement."

Agent Avery walked out from behind the cars with the rest of their team. He held an infrared thermal imaging machine which had determined that there were no heat sources in the house, or in and around the vehicle.

Within minutes Shaw's and Brady's men had entered and cleared the home. Each room had been meticulously searched, The unfinished basement where Castle had been kept was being processed, as were all other rooms and surfaces. Blood had been found in both the basement and the black SUV, as well as hair and fibers. One of Castle's cuff links had been found in the crease of the back passenger side of the SUV was damaged, and the silver paint was sent out for analysis to see if it matched the paint from Castle's car.

Agent Shaw had pulled out her fancy FBI toys and rushed prints to the front of the line at the lab. This time Beckett made no objections to the calvary swooping in and taking over.

Within two hours blood and hair samples had placed Castle and Rogan O 'Leary in the black Escalade. Castle's blood was also identified in the basement, the amount of blood found at the scene wasn't life threatening. The paint on the SUV matched the paint from Castle's Mercedes. Finger prints found at the scene were being run through all possible databases.

It was evening and Kate had asked Jordan to stay at the house instead of booking a room at a hotel for the night. It was the first time in days that Kate felt like she could breathe. Castle was alive. There was something big going on here, and she just couldn't understand how Castle fit into it all. They had been eating in silence, both lost in thought when Jordan cleared her throat.

"How are you holding up, Kate?"

"I'm numb. It took so long for us to get here. He fought tooth and nail, now it's my turn. I'm not giving up. I know he's out there and he's alive. I know he wouldn't give up. I just keep going over everything we have and none of the puzzle pieces line up. Every new clue leads no where. I need him here, to weave me a story, to make it all make sense."

"There hasn't been any contact from anyone?"

"If this was about money we would have been called by now." None of this made sense and time was against them.

Shaw's phone had rung. Avery could be heard on the other end disseminating information. Shaw hung up and looked at Kate.

"We have hits on two sets of prints found in the car.. Both men are on the no fly list and are suspected terrorists who sympathize with our enemies. They are gathering as much information as possible and requesting help from the CIA.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&amp;B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He hadn't had any contact in days. No voices, footsteps, nothing that resembled another human anywhere. He kicked, rammed and pounded on the door at the end of his first day alone. On the second day he had screamed himself hoarse. The third day alone he laid in the bed, staring wide eyed at the cracked ceiling, his mind raced with thoughts and theories, but he hardly moved.

He was at least ten stories up in this building and there was nothing of any use in his room that he could use to escape. His captors had left water beside his bed in a pitcher. He had been careful and rationed it from the start, and the day it had rained he collected more through the bars on the windows.

Fear slowly crept over him. Frustration was festered below the surface. The silence and solitude chipped away at his sanity. He was a social animal, being alone had always been detrimental. The normal nervous energy that was an integral part of him had no outlet, and it all continued to take it's toll.

He closed his eyes and thought of Kate. He was determined to do anything to get back to her and his family, he just had to wait for the opportunity because right now, there was nothing he could do.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&amp;B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunt knew who he was searching for. He had worked among them to infiltrate them, but right now had lost their trail. He managed to find the home they had kept Richard in just as they were evacuating the premises. Four cars had left the house, and he had to choose one to follow without backup. One car remained parked and empty. When the SUV had finally stopped three young teens had emerged.

Jackson Hunt had questioned them only to learn that they had been approached by a man who offered them $150 each to drive the SUV to Silver Spoon diner 50 miles away, then find their way home. The man had medium height with brown hair and beard, he never took off his dark aviator glasses. He was tall and skinny and wore jeans, a green t-shirt and a Yankees cap. The boys heard and saw other people, but they weren't close enough to describe them. Jackson Hunt let them go, they were kids who made a quick $150 and had no clue what they had gotten themselves involved in.

Richard was out there, and he was paying the price for his recent actions. He knew they were using his son to draw him out, he just needed a little more time.

****Please, don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	7. Chapter 7

**I felt bad the last chapter took so long so this one is early! I hope you enjoy! Thank you once again to my great reviewers. I can't tell you how excited I get when I read them. So if you fave or follow please let me know why you like it. To the my great BTS people who help me with tenses, writing and spelling you rock! ****I can't wait for Season 7 so they can fix this mess! This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Ficathon! I'm shooting for 50,000 words!**

**This chapter goes out to Teresa who's hubby could use some prayer! Hope he's doing better soon!**

Jordan Shaw was didn't like being strung along. She liked direct answers and cold hard facts, and action, and that's not what she's gotten this morning. She had reached out to her contact at the CIA and received nothing but intello-babble double talk and the bureaucratic run around. Something just wasn't right. She was placed on hold again and her patience was running dangerously thin, when she heard the irrefutable sound of the dial tone. The CIA had hung up on her. She looked at the phone in disbelief and then over to Avery.

"What the fuck?" Shaw mumbled under her breath as she placed the phone non too gently back on it's cradle. "I've been on the phone all morning trying to get information on the two suspects we got hits on from the CIA, and they just hung up on me!"

Avery looked up from his paperwork he and said, "I take it they didn't have much?"

"More like they've got plenty and aren't willing to play nice and share. I've been on that phone for well over an hour and haven't talked to a single human being for more than a minute before I was transferred and finally disconnected? Do we have anything on the suspects?"

"We know that they're twin brothers, born in Canada of Libyan parents who were visiting family in Alberta, when they were born. They were delivered six weeks early, and have dual citizenship. Both have done time in Canada for breaking and entering and armed robbery. They have traveled to Libya for extended stays and are suspected of terrorist activities. That's where our information ends." Avery flipped through the stack of papers and pulled out two 8x10 photos. He puts them up on Beckett's board, for her to arrange at a later time.

It's at that moment that Kate made an appearance at the top of the stairs. She's surprised to see Shaw and Avery at the table working.

"What time is it?" She asked as she reached the bottom of the stairs.

"It's quarter to seven, we got an early start." Avery answered.

"I can see that. Would you two like some coffee while you bring me up to speed?" The two agents nod gratefully.

The next hour was spent bringing Kate up to date and rehashing old leads and info. They were staring at Kate's board, when Jordan's phone rang.

"Special Agent Jordan Shaw, can I help you?"

"Is Detective Beckett with you?" The voice was low and masculine.

"I'm sorry, but who is this?" Jordan continued as she looked up and caught Kate's eyes.

"Who I am isn't important, but I have information on who has Richard Castle."

"How do you know this info? How do I know we can trust you?"

"I called you after you failed to get answers from the CIA. If that's not enough. Tell Detective Beckett that I gave him "Casino Royale" when he was 10."

Jordan turned towards Kate. "He just told me to tell you, he gave him "Casino Royale" when he was ten. Does that mean anything to you?"

Kate rushed over to Jordan and snatched the phone from her hands.

"Hunt, where's Castle? Do you have him?" Her hands trembled as she spoke.

"Unfortunately, I don't, Detective, but I have information about who does. We need to meet."

"Where are you?"

"I'm in the States working the same case you are. Are you still at the Hampton's?"

"Yes, I am."

"I will contact you later today and tell you where to meet. If you trust the F.B.I. Agent bring her with you. We are getting him back, Kate."

Then the line went silent. For a minute Kate just stared at the phone. Her mind replayed the conversation. She was startled out of her thoughts when Avery cleared his throat, and she looked up at two sets of inquiring eyes.

"Care to share what that was, Detective?" Jordan asked.

Kate motioned them to the table and brought over the coffee pot.

"It started just over two years ago. When Alexis was kidnapped and taken to France. Castle disappeared on me and went to find her. There was an elaborate cover story by the US and French governments to explain what exactly happened, but I didn't know that, as Castle was sworn to secrecy and didn't tell me until we encountered Hunt in one of our cases. It wasn't until after we solved that case where a store clerk was murdered, that the real story came out. In that case the young man had been helping the CIA. He tried to expose a mole dubbed Gemini who hacked the CIA's list of deep cover operatives and was poised to sell it to the Iranians. The exchange was to take place at the NY public library, but Hunt had been injured and in no condition to go, I went as backup. Rick and I hijacked the library Wi-Fi signal and tried to grab the file before Gemini could. But when I went to track the Wi-Fi source, Rick was approached by Gemini and led to the basement. Luckily the injured Hunt, gave Martha the slip, and stabbed and shot Gemini, just before he would have killed Castle. Castle found me and took me to the scene. By the time we got there the body had disappeared, but the gun remained. The gun that was left behind was the piece of evidence that closed the case. After that Castle confessed about what had happened in France, and that he had been contacted by Jackson Hunt. Hunt helped him rescue Alexis from the kidnappers. She was used as a pawn to flush out Hunt."

"What's the connection between Hunt and Castle? How do they know each other? I don't understand why Alexis would be used to flush Hunt out?" asked Shaw.

"Castle doesn't really know him. They have only met a handful of times, and the first time Castle knew who he, was in France with Alexis' abduction."

"Kate, what are you not telling us?" Jordan was getting frustrated. There was a piece of the puzzle that hadn't been revealed.

"Hunt is Castle's father." Kate said it so quietly that Jordan thought she may have misunderstood.

"His what?"

"His father, Jordan. Castle was famously fatherless until two years ago. You'd think his father being a spy would have thrilled him, but it didn't. Castle was the product of a night of passion between Martha and Hunt. He was gone the next morning, and didn't know till years later that he had a son. He stayed away from them for their own safety, according to him, but he did keep tabs on them and secretly helped them when he could. He would have stayed anonymous but the kidnapping of Alexis drew him out."

Avery interjected, "If that happened with Alexis, then he might also have something to do with Castle's disappearance. What's his full name again?"

"I'm not sure if it's his real name, or just the one he gave us, but he calls himself Jackson Hunt."

Jordan turned to Kate, "How much of that story does anyone at the NYPD know?"

"None of it. They only know we found blood and the gun at the scene after we had been tipped off that something was going down at the library. For Castle's family safety and for Hunt's safety it's best that his involvement in either case be strictly confidential. Hunt is a secret operative for the CIA, so they know him, but would almost certainly never admit it. I'm not a fan of the man, since every time he shows up someone I love is in danger."

"I don't see Jackson Hunt in any of our databases. Just means he's an extremely high level operative, or that's just another one of his aliases." Avery calls out from his computer.

"Avery, scan for any the last six to eight months for any international incidents foiled on American soil? See if we get any hits? Call the office and arrange protection for Castle's daughter and mother." Jordan called out to him over her shoulder, as she reached for the coffee pot and poured herself another cup. "I have a feeling we're going to need this coffee."

Kate excused herself, called Martha and Alexis and brought them up to date. She told them about the protection they would have but omitted the contact with Hunt, for now. The news would only upset them, and they'd had enough turmoil. After that she called the boys and caught up with them. When she spoke to Captain Gates she was surprised to hear that she had been the one to request the FBI's assistance. She thanked her for her help and then returned to the living room where Avery and Shaw were working.

The Jordan's phone rang at 4:45 pm while Kate was getting ready to start a simple dinner.

"Agent Shaw." She answered.

"Hello, Agent Shaw. I'm not far from the house. I'll be arriving within 15 minutes by foot, from the beach side of the house. I would prefer if none of you shot me, when I get there." Hunt answered. "Detective Beckett knows what I look like."

"We'll be waiting."

Shaw relayed the conversation to Avery and Kate. Just a few minutes later they saw an older gentleman walk up to the house from the beach and knock gently on the back door.

"Come in. Jackson Hunt, these are Special Agents Shaw and Avery. Please sit down." Kate motioned towards the kitchen table.

"Has the house been swept for bugs?" He asked.

"My team at the NYPD swept it after Castle's disappearance, to make sure no one had been listening. They were very thorough; no cameras or listening devices were detected." Kate replied as she sat down. "Please tell us what you know."

"Sixteen months ago I was sent to infiltrate a suspected terrorist cell in Canada. The group was lead by two brothers with dual Canadian/Libyan citizenship. They had assembled a small group who believed that the Western powers were evil and must be destroyed. They purchased an old cargo plane and stored in at abandoned airfield in Canada. Their plan was to load the plane with ammonium nitrate fertilizer collected over a period of time, mix it with Diesel fuel and fly the plane to the Indianapolis 500 during Memorial Day and explode it just before it hit the track in front of the main grandstand with 200,000 people in it. Had they been successful they would have killed tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands of people and injured thousands more. Something went terribly wrong a month before the race, because the plane exploded at their airfield killing many of their own people. They suspected sabotage and had eventually figured out who was responsible. Me."

Kate pushed herself away from the table, stood up and ran her fingers roughly through her hair as she started to pace. "So, you're telling us this is because of you? For over forty two years you were nothing but a figment of his imagination. Neither Castle or Martha had any clue who you were. Then two years ago this family is nearly destroyed when Alexis was kidnapped because of you, and now you're telling me that Castle is gone because of you again?"

"Detective Beckett-"

"Don't you dare Detective Beckett me!" she growled defensively between clenched teeth. "Twice my families lives have been at stake because of you. Do you have any idea what it is to have loved ones taken from you? This was our wedding Hunt. Your sons wedding!" She slamed her hand against the table, and bent at the waist and glared into his eyes.

"You're a total stranger to them! Yet their lives have been at risk because of you! They're my family, they're all I have besides my dad, they're everything!" Kate knew she'd lost her composure, and professionalism. She looked at the people around the table, but focuses on Shaw. "Excuse me, I need to step out and get some fresh air."

The room was eerily quiet for a minute, then Agent Shaw said, "That woman has gone through enough loss in her life. Your son worked years at getting her to where she is. I saw the bond and love between them before they did. If something happens to your son or his family it will break her, and God help you there won't be a safe place on earth for you to hide."

Kate paced back and forth like a caged tiger. She had never felt such anger, her blood boiled as she watched Hunt speak about his involvement like it was nothing. For God sake this was his son's life he had once again placed in danger. She knew she needed to cool down enough to regain her objectivity and take advantage of his presence, so she stood and watched the waves crush and recede against the shore, until she was under control.

She turned and entered the house once again. She looked directly at Hunt. "You will do everything in your power to get Castle back safe and sound, but when this is over, I don't care what you do, but you will make sure that this will never ever happen again. Fake your death, get plastic surgery and disappear or drop dead, I don't care how you do it but be certain this never happens again. If there is a next time and it involves you and anyone I love, you won't come out unscathed."

Hunt seemingly unfazed shook his head and said, "Understood, now let's put our heads together and see what we can come up with."

****Please, don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board! Please leave a review I'd be eternally grateful ;)****


	8. Chapter 8

**I hope everyone is doing well! Thank you all so much for the great response to the last chapter. To everyone who reviewed, thank you for taking the time out to do so. You guys really make writing this story rewarding. To know you are enjoying it really helps encourage me to continue! I hope everyone is enjoying it. We now know Sept 29 is the Castle season premier! I'm excited for it. Yes, I hated the finale. I hated that they destroyed the wedding and ruined Kate's "one and done." I thought the crash was overused, BUT I'm here until the wheels fall off. I haven't given up on the show, and I'm anxiously awaiting any spoiler news. Stana is still incredible, and Nathan is still sexy! I'm not sure what's coming, but I'm willing to wait, because it's still my favorite show! I hope you are all still going to join me in watching Sept. 29. This is my entry in the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon!**

Kate Beckett, Jordan Shaw and Jackson Hunt worked late into the night, they dissected every detail. Hunt promised to contact Kate if he came across any new leads or information, and to check in periodically for any new info on their part. Then as quickly as he had appeared, Hunt disappeared into the moonlit night.

It had been hours since she laid down and stared at the ceiling of their bedroom, trying to calm her nerves and the anger that coursed through her. Rick and her had made a conscious decision to continue their partnership, knowing the inherent dangers involved. They had gone into it with their eyes wide open, and had made the choice. They had each other's back, and were always there to pick up the pieces for each other. It was their choice, their life.

Hunt was another story. He had placed her family in danger three times in the last two years. They didn't know him, there was no connection, no trust. He was related by blood only, and that didn't make you family, not in her book. She didn't like the man. He was cold, indifferent, calculated, so different from his son, that she couldn't in her heart make the comparison.

Her anger boiled over as she thought of the information he had brought them. The CIA had been involved, every step of the way, in the fiasco that had been their wedding. They manipulated events when they suspected that Castle and his family were in danger. The venue hadn't burned down, they needed to get them out of the city, so they could keep them safe. The assumption had been that they'd move it to the Hampton's, and they didn't disappoint. Castle's tour had been cut short, to protect him. It was hard to protect someone when they were meeting fans and giving autographs in huge crowds. The CIA had manipulated their lives and those they loved, and in the long run screwed it up anyway. She had immediately lost her temper after Hunt's revelation, pushed her chair away from the table and paced angrily back and forth.

"Who the fuck, do you think you are to do this? I'm an N.Y.P.D. Detective! I have an entire department behind me. If we had known there was a threat, I could have protected him. But this isn't about him, is it? It's about you!" Hunt stood to talk, but Kate had turned and walked over to him. She stood barely an inch from his face. "You could have warned him, and spared our wedding. All you cared about is yourself. You showed up qto clean up after your messes! What you were doing to us, how it was affecting us, that never crossed your mind, did it? Because in your life the only person who comes first is you!"

"It's my job." He had answered her calmly. "My job keeps people like you safe. If it wasn't for me, and people like me the world would be a more dangerous place."

"Unless you're Castle, or maybe Alexis. Guess they're even farther down your list then the rest of the world, because neither did anything to deserve this, and both of them were abducted and mistreated because they were related to you!" She turned away and mumbled "pompous asshole," under her breathe.

"That's enough; both of you. This isn't helping. We need to find Castle and to do that we need every resource available." Shaw had interjected. "We also need to see how Rogan and Tildy fit in. Hunt, we need you to find out if the CIA contacted them, or if they are working for the other side."

How, Kate wondered, could Hunt manipulate people's lives without regret? How could he be so calm when his son's life was in danger? The man is supposed to be a patriot, had supposedly sacrificed much for his country, but she just didn't see the greater good here. They were drowning in the shallow end of the pool, they had no idea where Castle Was. Their God-damn plan has backfired and left Castle in grave danger. At least he was here and had admitted his involvement. That's something, but it damn sure wasn't enough.

Her emotions ran high as she laid in her bed, and recounted the many events of the day. It was late at night that she let herself feel the pain and loss of him. Each night in their bed, she prayed. She prayed like she did when she was nineteen. She prayed for his safety and for the end of this nightmare. Each night she fell asleep to the diminishing smell of him on his pillow, and the tears would come until she'd finally fall asleep from pure exhaustion.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&amp;B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alexis had decided to stay at the loft with her grandmother while her father was missing. She wanted to be close if they received any information. This morning she was up early and had rushed around as she tried to get to her first class; International Human Rights Law with Professor Cooper, who was an obnoxious hard ass, on time. She had swung her bag over her shoulder and had opened the door to the loft to leave when she spotted the large manila envelope. She picked it up and was going to just leave it for her Gram, since she was running late, but curiosity got the better of her. There wasn't a name on the envelope, so she opened it and pulled what seemed to be one of many papers out of it.

Alexis dropped the envelope on the floor, some of it's contents spilling onto the floor. She just stared at the pictures, in horror. There in the middle of the room was her father, tied to a chair and shirtless. He was a bloodied mess. His face swollen and disfigured, but it was him And he was alive. Her hands started to tremble and her mind cleared as she yelled for her Grams and reached for her cell to call Kate.

Kate had been sleeping when her cell had begun to ring. She reached over and was perplexed that Alexis would call her this early. As soon as Kate answered Alexis was talking. "I was getting ready to leave. There was a Manila envelope on the floor in front of the front door. I didn't think, Kate. I opened it. There are picture, pictures of Dad." She started to cry. "They've beaten him, Kate. He's tied to a chair and he full of cuts and bruises, his face is a mess, there blood on the floor and on his pants. Oh my God Kate what have they done to him?"

By now Martha had arrived at the top of the stairs and listened in horror. She came down the stairs and stood quietly behind Alexis. Martha glimpsed quickly at the picture and turned away, but held her granddaughter close, as she lost control.

"Alexis, listen to me. I'm going to call the 12th and get Espo and Ryan down there. Keep the picture you touched aside, so they know your prints are on them. Don't touch anything else. Alexis?" Kate waited for the girl to respond.

"Yeah, Grams is here with me now. We won't touch anything again, and we'll wait for Ryan and Esposito to get here. He looks so bad, Kate. We have to find him."

"I'm going to come home. I'll be there as soon as I can. We're going to find him Alexis, and we're all going to be ok." She hung up with Alexis and rushed around the room. Kate needed to see the picture. To see for herself proof that he was still alive, even though she knew seeing the pictures would devastate her.

Kate threw on clothes and ran to the kitchen where Shaw quietly sat and drank her first cup of the day. She looked up to a disheveled Kate Beckett and instantly knew there was some kind of news.

"Pictures of Castle were delivered to the loft. Alexis found them this morning as she was leaving for school. She's a mess because he was obviously tied and beaten in the pictures. I'm headed to the city. You guys want to meet me there?" Kate clipped on her badge and adjusted her gun as she spoke.

"You go, we'll be a few minutes behind you. I don't want to keep you. We'll meet you at the loft." Shaw said as she drank the last of her coffee and headed out to find Avery and make the necessary calls.

Kate started driving, she called the 12th and started things rolling there. Before she got off the phone she had talked to the boys and Gates. They would meet her at the loft when she arrived there, and would supervise the collection of evidence. Kate reminded them that the building had security cameras and to request the video.

She had a two hour drive ahead of her, and all she could think of was Castle And what she would find in those pictures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&amp;B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His captors had all returned, and they came back angrier then before they left. They had barged into the room and had used him as their personal punching bag. Castle had gotten in a few punches and had tried to protect himself but it was of no use. He was grossly outnumbered.

They had laughed when one particular punch had knocked out an already lose tooth and blood spurted from his mouth. They taunted him, told him he wasn't so pretty to look at anymore.

Then they asked him where "Craven" was? He had no clue who they were talking about and told them so. They didn't believe him. Each time he said he didn't know a new round of punches and kicks ensued. It wasn't until one of them pulled out a picture of Craven that he knew who they were talking about.

There in front of him was a picture of Hunt. The bile rose to his mouth and anger boiled through his veins. He couldn't believe this was because of him, again?

"I despise that man." He said through clenched teeth. "I know you know who he is, but I've only met him twice, and I certainly have no idea where he is now!"

"We want him, so it's going to be you or him. We left your family a present, and hope that it's enough for them to know we aren't playing games here." One of the men spoke.

"Don't you touch my family!" He growled and tried to get up. He was too badly beaten to stand and dropped back to the floor in a heap.

"If we have to, we will do whatever we need to do to get Craven. If we have to involve your sexy fiancé or sweet daughter to get what we need, then so be it." He leans by Castle's ear and hisses "Either of them would be a tasty morsel."

Castle charged towards the man but fell before reaching him. "I'll kill you if you touch them." Castle growled.

All the men laugh and the leader speaks again, "You can hardly stand on your own two feet, let alone kill me. Maybe we'll let you watch as we all take turns with them."

They turned and left the room as they discussed Kate and Alexis. Bile rose quickly in his throat and he threw up in a corner of the room. The blind anger consumed him. He couldn't believe this was happening again. He had been right all along. Hunt wasn't family, Alexis, Martha, Kate and those closest to him at the 12th were family, and he knew they had not given up on him.

He crawled to the bed on the other side of the room and collapsed into it. Everything hurt. He closed his eyes and thought of his family. He thought of last Christmas, and Valentine's Day, and eventually exhaustion took over and he fell into a restless sleep.

****Please, don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters. I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you to all of you, reading, reviewing, favoriting, and alerting this story! I hope I replied to all of you! On Monday I'll be away until August 7. I'll be able to write, but I won't be able to post. I'll try and post a short chapter before Monday night. I can't believe the reception this story has gotten. It's my first case fic story, and I have been so unsure about writing it. Thank you, to the small crew who helps make this story what it is. Hope you have a good almost couple of weeks! You guys are the best!**

Castle had searched every inch of the room, more than once, for anything he could use to escape or protect himself with. The itchy blanket on his bed just barely covered his body when in a fetal position; the cloth too rotten to trust it as a rope even if that could have been useful. There was no sheet on the filthy mattress. The metal bed was rusted together. The window bars were all solid; none of them even remotely loose. He had checked each one carefully, more than once. Castle entertained breaking one of the windows and using the glass as a weapon, but it would only work if he was one on one, with his captors and they always came in a group. There was no other furniture, no pipes, nothing.

He paced a lot. The dimensions of the room were etched in his mind, he had paced them out so often. He had lost track of how many days he had been in this god forsaken hell, but if he had to estimate it had to be approaching a month. The days had gotten longer, and evenings warmer. Summer was definitely approaching.

With only his thoughts to pass the time, his anger at Hunt consumed him. His thoughts became darker. Hunt became his obsession. The man wasn't a father, but a sperm donor. Once this was over, he would have the satisfaction of telling him exactly what he thought of him. The only brightness he let in was his family, thoughts of Martha, Alexis and Kate, chased away the darkness that threatened to overcome him, and for them, he held on. He was certain Kate and the boys were looking for him, he couldn't give up hope.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kate had been driving for an hour and was currently on I-495 W heading towards Manhattan. She was about half way there and her mind had been racing with thoughts of the pictures waiting for her at the loft. She prepared herself for the worst. She knew Martha and Alexis would be there and they needed her to be strong. A chill coursed through her body, and for the millionth time since his disappearance Kate felt the overwhelming feeling that he knew she was out there looking for him, and he hadn't given up.

"Hold on Castle. Please babe, hold on." She whispered into the empty car as she continued to drive. Thankfully, the traffic was light and she'd be there quick, if it held off.

She drove by exit 53 without incident. Just another exit on the highway on the way home. Yet, unknown to her, 8 miles north off the exit, Castle laid in his bed and thought of her, and everything he held dear to his heart.

There were two cruisers parked outside of his building when she arrived. She went to the underground parking garage and parked the car. As she walked to the elevator, thoughts of the many times she had ridden it to visit the loft flooded her. From her first visit, where she compared herself to Alfred seeing the Bat-Cave for the first time to her rain soaked visit where they had finally made love. This wasn't the end of their love story. She refused to accept that; there was so much more story to tell.

The elevator doors opened to controlled chaos. LT and Officer Hastings stood guard at the front door. CSU was still there wrapping up with what looked like a few FBI agents. Lanie, Espo, Ryan and Gates talked to Martha and Alexis at the kitchen island. They were visibly shaken. The apartment and hall had obviously been scrutinized for any evidence. She stood quietly in the middle of the loft taking it all in, when the group at the counter noticed her.

Alexis was the first to jump up and run into her arms. " I'm so glad you're here, Kate."

Kate hugged the girl tightly and kissed the top of her head, as she looked over at the group who sat at the counter. Their faces told her that they hadn't found anything of substance as she walked over to them.

"So did we get anything?" Her voice was anything but confidant. It was Espo who spoke up.

"Everything they've gotten has been sent out for processing. We took pictures of what was sent for you. The cameras in the hall had the lenses sprayed with black paint, so we have nothing usable on tape. They knew where the cameras were located and there were no direct or indirect views of their faces. We know three of them came in through the underground garage. Everything from the elevator buttons to the pictures are being analyzed for finger prints, maybe we can get a better idea of how many there are if there are new prints."

Espo handed her his phone with the pictures of the evidence collected and the photos of Castle. She leaned toward the island and clutched the side for support when she saw the first picture of Castle. It wasn't the worst picture she had ever seen, but it was of the man she loved most in the world. The impact took her by surprise as she eased herself into one of the stools, and forced herself to scroll through the rest. Her eyes filled quickly with tears, and for a moment she let herself feel every emotion. Then just as quickly as it had overcome her, she a turned those feelings into steadfast determination. She wiped a stray tear, straightened her back and looked up at Gates just as Shaw and Avery walked in the front door.

"Sir, am I allowed to work from the precinct?"

"You're officially on leave, but our services are at your disposal, and your desk is as you left it, Detective." Gates answered.

Everyone turned towards Shaw as she read something off her phone to them. "CSU found small particles of paint in the rug in the hall, and in the elevator. It is an industrial paint used years ago in schools and hospitals. The paint contained high levels of lead, which leads us to believe that our perpetrators are using an old building, maybe someplace abandoned, or partially renovated with construction halted since the paint particles were stuck to their shoes or clothes."

Ryan spoke up,"There are hundreds of places in the city alone that could fit that description, and who knows how many more between here and the Hampton's or in the state of New York."

"Then we'll start looking through every one of them." Kate responded.

"We need more than paint chips, Beckett." Espo answered. "It would take us years to go through them all."

Shaw spoke up, "We can start looking within five to ten miles radius of the Hampton home and the loft. Then extend the search from there. It's slow but it's the best location lead we've gotten. We'll make a list of what we find, and compare it to a list the NYPD makes. Then go from there."

At that moment Hunt strolled through the front door, he flashed something at LT and Hastings as he walked in. LT followed him into the room.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Martha bursts out as she looked at Kate.

"Kate?" Alexis asked her words caught in her throat. "No, not again."

"Does this have to do with him again?" Martha voice got louder. " Haven't you done enough?"

Hunt's face didn't so much as flinched at the reactions Of those around him. His face showed no expression whatsoever. The same could not be said for Kate, Martha, Alexis, and those from the 12th

Espo, Lanie, Ryan and Gates sat totally confused. It took just a moment for Ryan and Espo to recognize the man from two of their previous murder cases, and the man of interest in Alexis' kidnapping, though he was never interrogated. The boys quickly traded glances and stood with their hands firmly on their guns.

"Please stand down." Kate asked as she looked at Espo and Ryan. She didn't think she could hate Hunt more than she already did. She knew her precinct family would feel betrayed and that there could even be legal consequences.

"Captain Gates, Espo, Ryan and Lanie, I'd like you to meet CIA Covert Operative Jackson Hunt, Castle's father and the man responsible for Castle's kidnapping. He knows who they are, and why they have Castle."

You could have heard a pin drop as everyone in the room processed the information, and took a good look at Hunt.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The two brothers sat on the floor and leaned against a bare wall just a few rooms from where Castle was being held. Safely back from their long drive to Manhattan, they wanted to relax and have a smoke, before having some fun with their prisoner.

"I don't know how people can live in that filthy crowded city. The urine smell everywhere is enough to make one sick. The car exhaust is disgusting."

"Some people thrive on that, they love the hectic rat race. It's why we do what we do, get rid of the stinkin' filth in this country. Once we get rid of Craven, we can get back to our original plan."

"Speaking of the plan, isn't this one taking too long? We haven't heard anything from him since we took his son."

"Patience, Craven will make his move. This place is secure. We have people near the front entrance, in the woods and all around this building. When he comes, we will know."

"What about his family?" He nodded toward where Castle was being held. "His Fiancé is a cop. She will look for him. If we wait long enough they will figure it out. Time isn't on our side."

"I'm counting on her to get Craven's attention. If we have to take her or his mother or daughter, or all three of them to flush him out, we will. Eventually he will come. If the pictures don't get things moving, we'll have to send something more personal next time."

The younger brother smiled. The smile was disturbing even to his brother. Removing body parts from their infidel captive would be just fine with him. He doesn't expect to live long anyway. Had they been able to follow through with their original plan, he would have already achieved martyrdom when he flew the explosive ladened plane into the crowded grandstand. He would have caused all that devastation to the infidel, and it would have been remembered forever. That thought gave him great pleasure.

****Please, don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters (hopefully). I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board! ****


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you for the positive reception to this story. I'm excited beyond words that this is my best reviewed fanfic to date. My most reviewed story has 26 chapter and 571 reviews, so this can possibly top it. Would so love to come back from vacation to a ton of reviews! Please remember that there won't be an update until after Aug. 7. Also there is a graphic torture scene in this chapter. There is no permanent damage other than possibly psychological. Please, remember that I'm a diehard Caskett shipper and there will always be a happily ever after. By the way, the roads and exits used are real, they would be the exits taken to the existing Kings Park Psychiatric Center which is currently abandoned in New York. This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon! Thank you all again.**

The loft was silent as he stood before his son's friends and family. He could feel their eyes as they judged him. They didn't want to hear how he had saved thousands of people, they wanted to know why Castle was paying the price. He explained a bit about Alexis' kidnapping and now about Castle's abduction. How someone in the CIA had blown his cover and somehow found out about Castle and his family. No one in the room showed more anger and resentment than Kate. Her fists clenched repeatedly as she paced back and forth as she listened to his emotionless voice. Her eyes never strayed from his face.

"Due to the threat made on your lives, the CIA had Castle's book tour cut short, protecting him on tour was almost next to impossible. Then we tried to postpone the wedding by having your venue unavailable, instead you moved it to the Hampton's. Even Rogan O'Leary was planted to keep this wedding from happening, and he paid with his life. They were always one step ahead of me. I made it to the house on the outskirts of town, just as they were leaving. They had multiple cars going in different directions. I could only follow one, and I chose wrong." Hunt spoke in an even unemotional tone.

The room was deathly silent when he finished. All eyes were still planted firmly on him.

"You chose wrong? Damn right you chose wrong!" Beckett attacked, "Three times you have crossed this family's path. Three times one of our lives have been in danger. Not once have you talked to us about any of it. How about coming to us, I'm a detective for the NYPD. Do you see everyone here, they would have protected us. Instead you let us walk right into it to save your sorry ass! If you had shared information with us, we could have been there when he was moved!"

"Detective," both Shaw and Gates spoke at the same time. Beckett stared at the two women. She knew they weren't reprimanding her, they knew that with a man like Hunt feeling and emotions were useless, it would get her nowhere.

"My ass has saved thousands of people, and has been responsible for stopping international incidents that could have lead to war." Hunt spoke up.

"Yet, you couldn't protect your own son, and grand daughter. Castle is out there paying the price for your indiscretions. We need leads, a plan, give us something. Look at these!" She grabs Espo's phone and shoves it in Hunt's direction. "That's your son, now start acting like his father."

Everyone in the room stared at the two as Hunt flipped quickly through the pictures of the phone. "At least we know he's still alive." He answered without emotion. "They want me, they know me as Craven. They could have already asked for our exchange but they haven't. This is a game to them, they think that by hurting him and whatever else they have planned it will destroy me. Then they will kill me and everyone else they may have. We have to get them before their next move."

"Tareq and Bouba Al-Awgir are the two brothers that lead the group. There are three others; William Bolly and Oliver Gaulin who are French Canadian and an American, Joseph Henderson. There were others, but they died when I sabotaged their plane in Canada. The cars used to move Castle were all stolen, and they had young kids drive the decoy cars to different locations. The kids knew nothing, they were in it for the money. All of them dealt with Tareq Al-Awgir and didn't know anything else. All the cars were dusted for prints and searched. The only the prints found were those of the drivers and the original owners of the cars. They were very careful." He stopped to take a breath and looked around the room at the hostile group before him.

"They find isolated locations, that they scout out ahead of time. They're good at blending in with their surroundings, and flying under the radar. In my opinion they are not more than 50 miles from either Manhattan or the Hampton's."

By the end of the evening they had a list of a hundred and fifty six addresses that fit the criteria they had set. It would take time to look at each place and there were only 6 of them searching. The pictures of the men had been distributed to all authorities, including the TSA and boarders. Slowly the their board was getting populated. Soon something had to pop. So far Castle's disappearance had not become public knowledge. Paula and Gina used everything in their arsenal and had kept the media at bay.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Espo and Ryan had returned to the precinct with a list of possible places to start searching. They sat and tried to prioritize the list with the most promising properties at the top of the list. Ryan had been distracted.

"Do you think we're going to find him alive, Javi?"

"Come on Bro, this is Castle we're talking about. You know he can take care of himself. Riding with us for 4 years had taught him a thing or two. He's one of us now."

"It's been five and a half weeks. Those picture were pretty bad, and they seem to know what they are doing."

"They don't want Castle, it's Hunt they want."

"Then why haven't we heard that? Why wait all this time? They haven't made a demand or even mentioned Hunt?"

"I dunno Bro, but Hunt's one screwed up asshole to do what he's done to his family. I've never seen Beckett this royally pissed off. I though her mother's murder had her down the rabbit hole, but this could destroy her."

"She's strong and she won't give up on Castle. I doubt Hunt's going to get many invites to Holiday gatherings after this tough."

They quietly went back to work, surprised at the number of schools, hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and public buildings there were in New York, that had been abandoned and fit their criteria.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Castle had known instantly that he had been drugged, he had woken up securely tied to a chair, with no recollection of getting there. The chair sat in the middle of an empty room. He couldn't move any part of his body except his head. He knows three nights had passed since his beating, before they had drugged him. He didn't have a clue how long he had been unconscious since. This new development didn't bode well for him. If he had written this scene the outcome would most definitely be brutal.

The door opened and five men entered. Bouba stood before him. Castle's eyes widened in fear as he spotted the pair of pliers that dangled from his hand and a piece of what looked like kindling in Tareq's. Castle's eyes met Tareq's then Bauba's, his stomach plummeted at the coldness reflected back. His heart started beating rapidly as two of the other three men walked up behind him. The third stood in front of him, with Tareq and Bouba on either side. Bouba held up the large pliers, he smiled sadisticly as he leaned towards Castle.

"We're going to send your pretty lady friend and your father a memento, Mr Castle. We want to make sure it is meaningful. Hopefully they'll understand the message." Bouba nods toward the two men that stood behind Castle.

They stepped up behind Castle and used both their hands on Castle's forehead, and pushed his head back as far as it would go.

Castle struggled against the restraints. He tried to shake his head, but the men stood firmly against his shoulders and use their weight to hold him down and keep him still.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be, Mr. Castle." Tareq forcibly pried Castle's mouth open and jammed the wood between his teeth on one side. Bits of wood dislodged into his throat and caused Castle to gag, but he was helpless. He used both of his hands to keep Castle's mouth open as wide as possible.

Castle struggled and grunted as his eyes widened with panic. The realization of what's about to be happen sunk in. His heart beat wildly in his chest and he began to hyperventilate.

Bouba placed the plier on top of the gum over his canine teeth, and tightened his grip until Castle screamed in agonizing pain.

"We want to make sure there is plenty of DNA evidence to prove that this is yours."

With that he yanked the tooth pulling down and away with all his strength. The tooth loosened but was still embedded in the gum. Castle was frantic, the pain was excruciating and radiated through his entire head. His chest constricted, his gag reflex caused throat spasms and he couldn't breath through the pain. He tried to close his mouth but the piece of wood had it jammed open so hard the pain radiated back into his head. It already felt like they were going to rip his jaw apart. Bouba clamped the pliers around the tooth once again. This time he put all his strength and weight into it and yanked towards the floor. The root tore through healthy tissue, causing a searing white pain though Castle mouth, then head. The tooth dangled loosely in his mouth, blood filled Castle's mouth and drooled from the corners of his mouth.

"One more good yank and it should be all over. Then we need to make sure this gets to the right people nice a fresh." Bouba growled into Castle's ear.

Castle trashed violently against the chair, but with the 5 men and the strong rope that restrained him kept him still. This time he started screaming before the pliers gripped the torn, bloody flesh. Mercifully, his eyes glassed over and he passed out during the final extraction. They tipped his head forward letting the blood drain from his mouth.

The tooth: roots and gum are packaged in ice for delivery and placed in a cooler. Then a picture of Castle is taken while he is still unconscious and covered in blood. His face is grossly swollen and the bloody torn hole in his mouth prominently displayed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A bicycle courier delivered the small Igloo cooler to the 12th precinct. Beckett was in the break room when it arrived. Gates immediately questioned the courier in the interrogation room, as the boys came to her side. They pulled on their gloves and opened the envelope carefully. It contained a computer generated note and the picture of Castle's face that clearly showed his mutilated mouth.

The note read, "Craven, we don't want Castle. His life for yours. In 36 hours we'll remove a different appendage. What good would a writer who can't type be? We have trimming shears. They will make short work of his fingers, toes, nose, and ears. Nobody will hear him scream. Come alone or he dies and we take another family member. The young red head would be a treat. We'll take more than appendages from her. Castle will get to watch. We'll send video."

She gasped when she flipped the picture over and saw Castle. She heard the incessant pounding that echoed through her and wondered where the hell the sound is coming from, until she realized it's the thundering beat of her own heart. Her legs gave out from under her and she fell into her chair. The boys eyes expressed all the fear and anguish she felt. Just when this couldn't get worse, it did. The full depth of the depravity of Castle's abductors' hit home with horrible finality. She closed her eyes and promised herself she would find him before the deadline.

****Please, let me know what you thought of this chapter. It is so out of my comfort zone. Don't forget this will continue with weekly updates, after August 7 with longer chapters (hopefully). I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers because without them, my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	11. Chapter 11

**Your response to the last chapter was incredible! Thank you, so...even on my crazy vacation in Disney, with my kids I've managed to get this chapter out ahead of schedule! Next chapter will definitely be after August 7! Hope you guys enjoy it. Again let me know what you think! Oh BTW the anonymous reviewer who said I should get my head examined? I deleted you comment by mistake, sorry. And too late, been there done that, and still going back :) This is my entry in the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon! Please let me know what you think!**

Chapter 11

The sun had set and darkness had crept in around him. He hoped and prayed it would swallow him whole. The pain was blinding. It radiated from his mouth to his ears, eyes then ricocheted off the back of his head. Blood continued to trickle out of the side of his mouth and his throat burned from retching up wood bits and blood. He felt no other part of his body as he curled himself into the fetal position, on the filthy mattress. He tried to conjure images of his family, but the pain was all encompassing, and for the first time since his abduction Castle was losing hope. Where the hell were his father and Kate?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kate had demanded that Lanie be the one to work on the extracted tooth and tissue, and no one objected. Shaw made sure an FBI expert assisted her and that the samples were sent to different labs. She ordered agents to walk the samples through, and never let them out of their sight, to ensure that there was no tampering. Within hours they had been able to verify that it was indeed Castle's canine tooth, through dental records and DNA testing. The FBI agents had proven that the photo had not been tampered with. There hadn't been any trace of a numbing agent or an injection sight. The extraction had been done with a typical household tool, probably a pair of vise grip pliers. Nobody had to say out loud that it had been excruciatingly painful.

Lanie had called Gates first with the information, and had asked to be the one to deliver the news to Kate and the boys. She knew they would need her support. Kate was working at her desk, when she looked up as Lanie got off the elevator and entered the bullpen. She instinctively knew from Lanie's eyes and posture that the news was not good. Gates had come out of her office and had called them all into the conference room. She motioned for everyone to sit. Kate refused to sit and leaned against the wall.

"Dr. Parrish, called me a half hour ago and requested that she be able to give all of you her findings in person. Under the circumstances I thought it would be in everyone's best interest. Lanie was assisted by one Shaw's agents both Dr.'s got the same exact results." Gates took a seat and Lanie stood at the front of the table. She looked at Kate as she started.

"We compared DNA samples from those the city required him to give when he first started shadowing you. The blood and tissue on the tooth, is definitely Castle's. We didn't find an injection site, or any form Novocaine or any other anesthetic in the surrounding tissue. The tooth was extracted with a store bought pair of pliers, probably what are known as vise grips based on the tooth marks, and used to inflict the most amount of pain. Lanie looked at Kate, her eyes conveyed that she knew her friend was hurting. "I'm so sorry, Kate."

Kate leaned over and tightly gripped the back of the chair in front of her, as she closed her eyes. She took a couple of deep breaths as she tried to keep her composure. Espo and Ryan visibly flinched, and quickly looked to their friend and boss for direction. This wasn't the news anyone of them wanted.

"Even with the ice keeping it fresh, the tissue and blood are very fresh. I estimate that the extraction happened today within the last two to four hours. We found trace particles of wood, they may have used something wooden to keep his mouth open. The one good thing is that no matter how the tooth was extracted, the blood loss wouldn't be life threatening. I'm concerned about the incredible pain Castle has had inflicted on him. Psychologically none of this is good for him. There is also the high probability of infection which if not taken care of could be very dangerous.

Shaw spoke up, "If we take into account the amount of time it took to do the extraction, the time to transport it to the city, get it picked up by a courier and brought here. Then the place they are keeping Castle at is an hour or so away. Let's concentrate on the sites on our list within 50 miles of here and between here and the Hampton's."

Ryan ran out of the room and returned with the list they'd compiled. "There are only a half a dozen or so candidate locations that are both between 50 miles of here and between here and the Hamptons. There are a few large institutions on that list. Those will take more manpower and time. If he is at one of those it will be hard to get the drop on them. I'm sure they'll be looking out for us."

"Has anyone contacted Hunt?" Espo asked. "He may have more resources for manpower." Then he turned towards Shaw. "Do you still have access to the fancy toys, Agent Shaw? The infra-red body heat devices would be helpful."

The conversation continued as Kate slipped out of the room, pulled the the burner phone Hunt gave her out and reluctantly made the call. He answered immediately.

"Detective Beckett, do you have new information?"

"A courier delivered a cooler to the precinct earlier today. Inside was an extracted tooth with gum tissue attached, that has been positively identified through DNA as Castle's. Lanie estimated that the extraction took place less than 4 hours ago. We have now focused our search to abandoned buildings within 50 miles of here and between here and the Hamptons."

"I have done recon on a few of the places on the list you gave me. I'll send them to you in a text. You can eliminate them from your searches, as there was no evidence of anyone having been there recently." He answered her.

"I'll be waiting for it." Then he hung up leaving her staring at the phone. She gathered herself up and re-entered the conference room. Everyone looked up from what they were doing as her phone dinged with an incoming message. Beckett scanned the text quickly and looked over at Ryan.

"Ryan, Hunt has already gone to some of these sites. You might still want them on the list, but leave them for last. I don't trust him."

Ryan left the room to work on getting teams together, and figuring out where to start.

"Espo, work with Shaw on getting together a good tactical team." Then Kate looked towards Gates.

"Sir, I'm going to head up to the Hampton's PD and see if they have anything new. I also need to close the house and bring our stuff down."

"Go ahead, Kate. Come back tomorrow and we will be ready with teams."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kate drove through evening into night on her way to his Hampton home. She was about half way there when the sign for an off ramp jogged her memory and she recalled that one of the places on the list was only a few miles away. In a spur of the moment decision she took exit 53 and headed north toward the long abandoned King's Park Psychiatric hospital.

It took less than ten minutes to arrive to the hospital. Distracted, tired and deep in thought, Kate drove down the abandoned driveway that lead to the main building. It wasn't until she saw dim lights in couple of windows on an upper floor of the main building that it registered, with a shock that jolted her wide awake and fully alert, that this could be the place and no one knew where she was. She pulled out her phone and dialed Espo's number. Her head snapped towards to the left when she heard a tap on her driver's side window and looked straight down the barrel of a gun.

****Please, don't forget this will have weekly updates, with longer chapters (hopefully). I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	12. Chapter 12

**So, not only did I write a chapter and posted it during my vacation. I have this chapter as promised and in time! I took my youngest daughters (twins) to Disney World with a friend for their high school graduation present. We all had an awesome time. We were up past midnight everyday and a couple of days past 3 am and up at a park by 9am the next day. I wrote on busses, waiting in line and just about anywhere I could. I hope it's ok and you enjoy. I ask that you please**** let me know what you think! Thank you to everyone who faved, reviewed of followed. I'll be able respond to reviews this chapter! This is my entry in the Castle Summer Hiatus 2014 Ficathon!**

_I don't look, I hunt._

_Kate Beckett_

Kate's eyes widened as she stared down the barrel of a gun. She hadn't seen or heard anyone approach the car. The phone in her hand slipped from her fingers and onto the seat beside her. Then her training took over and her brain went into tactical mode.

It only took a fraction of a second for her thoughts to process. When asked later she would reply that she didn't remember it exactly but she knew she couldn't allow herself to be captured. If Castle was up there, and they caught her, she wouldn't survive. They would use her to torture him then dispose of her all while he watched. She knew Castle could not handle that. Her eyes quickly flicked from side to side as she scanned the area around her without moving her head; she saw no other motion outside the car. Their only hope was for her to take this guy down and ambush any others before they could escape with Castle. Taking this guy quietly or arresting him wasn't an option. She was going to have to shoot him. She felt the beginning of an adrenaline surge and fought to hide it from whoever was out there.

In a show of compliance she raised her hands to shoulder level in gesture of surrender. She needed whoever was behind the gun to think she was helpless and afraid.

Kate looked up toward the man she knew was hidden in the darkness behind the gun, with scared doe like eyes. With her hands still at shoulder level she allowed them to tremble visibly and pointed to her seat belt. The gun moved slightly up and down; she took that as assent and slowly lowered her right hand. Then she turned her shoulder slightly to the right away from the gun to give her better access to the glock in her shoulder holster and hesitated with her thumb on the release. Her movement gave her the few precious seconds needed to devise a strategy. She watched as his gun swung to the left, and motioned for her to get out of the car. The phone had stopped ringing, indicating that Esposito had finally answered. Before he could speak she yelled, "Please I'm getting out please don't shoot me!" She hoped her voice would silence Espo before he gave away that her phone was connected on a call. She wanted Espo to have enough time to pull the GPS location data from her phone.

In the darkness she knew her assailant couldn't see her movements clearly. She watched as the gunman moved his gun off her for better access to the door handle, reached for the door and started to open it. With catlike reflexes, she clicked the belt release, pivoted in her seat and kicked the door as hard as she could with both feet.

The door slammed into the startled gunman with enough force that he stumbled back onto the pavement and fell. His gun was jarred from his hand as he hit the gravel and landed somewhere in the shadows behind him. He muttered something angrily in Libyan as Beckett jumped out of the car, threw herself to the ground toward the rear of her car, and put the open door between them.

Kate rolled to her left side and yanked the Glock from her shoulder holster as she turned toward her assailant. It felt like she was moving through wet cement. She could clearly see him under the car. The glow of the car's interior lights washed over the gunman as he searched frantically for the lost gun. She knew instinctively that she had to take a shot. These men were terrorists and ready to die for their cause. It was either him or her and in this battle there could only be one victor.

She pointed the gun in his direction and fired five shots under car as fast as she could pull the trigger. She learned later that two of them had hit him directly, the other three hit the ground and ricocheted into various parts of his body. He collapsed immobile. Kate scrambled to her feet, carefully approached the back of the car, and took a quick glance at him.

Blood bubbled from his mouth, and oozed from his neck, torso, and one of his legs. He was unable to move let alone continue the attack.

She kept her gun pointed at him and approached. He couldn't move, one knee was blasted to bits. He couldn't even make a noise because as she watched he stopped moving, the blood coming out of his nose and mouth stopped bubbling and the lights went out in his eyes. She moved closer, quickly checked for a pulse and found none. She wiped the blood off her fingers on his clothes and then took a few seconds to get her bearings and plan what was next.

If there were more of them here, the gunshots would have definitely alerted them. She had no idea how many times she'd fired so she quickly popped the magazine out of her Glock and saw it had eleven rounds remaining. She spotted his gun right by the front tire. It was a ... Glock 17. It had 17 rounds left in the magazine. And ... he had two more full magazines on him. She quickly disposed him of all of it. "Thanks asshole, I need this more than you do," she thought.

Just then the light in the room where she'd hypothesized Castle to be went out. The entire building was engulfed in darkness. She had to move, she stood very exposed by the interior lights of the car.

She glanced again at the dead man, quickly grabbed his ID, his radio, and the knife sheathed at his waist. The more weapons she had the better. She carefully slid the knife and his gun into her belt, reached into the car, retrieved her phone and slammed the door closed.

The shots had caused a commotion. She could hear several voices as they checked in on the radio she'd appropriated from the dead man. It wouldn't be long before they figured out who hadn't responded. She quickly checked her phone. The line was dead, she hoped Espo had heard the altercation and had traced the call but now was not the time to call him back.

They were coming for her, of that she was certain. She had to intercept them and capture Castle before they attempted to move him to a new location. Sadly she hoped Castle's injuries would slow them down.

Beckett made her way to the building. Pressed firmly against the wall, she hid behind overgrown bushes and vines that climbed the building's facade. There was no way anyone could see her in the dark.

She knew she had to outwit them, get inside their heads, and think like them. There were so many unanswered questions that could affect the final outcome. Her main problem was how many of them were there. She struggled to keep her head and fight off rising panic, she instituted the combat breathing technique Espo had taught her. She inhaled for count of four, held it for a count of four, and exhaled for a count of four, waited for a count of four, repeated. By the time she'd done a few cycles of that she was once again in control and focused.

Castle was definitely here. There was no question about it. She made sure she silenced her phone and lowered the volume on the radio, then contemplated her next strategic move.

She heard a sound off to her right and was glad her vision had begun to adapt to the dark because she spotted one of the terrorists approaching her car. She froze with the realization that he had been outside in the dark the whole time but apparently standing guard on the other side of the facility. The way he moved his vision was completely adapted to the dark. She turned off the captured man's radio just before she heard someone's voice say something in a foreign language that was clearly a profanity. He had just found one of his team taken out and the shooter was now at large.

Jesus, that was close. If he'd heard his transmission coming from her radio she'd be dead now.

The terrorist engaged in a brief conversation with someone and apparently his news wasn't well received because he kicked the dead guy, snorted something unintelligible, and then headed at first in her direction. To her intense relief, he altered course toward a door she could barely make out about twenty feet away. She remained motionless in the shadows of the over grown vegetation near the building.

She counted to fifteen, then moved quickly along the wall to the entrance. The doors and windows of the building had clearly been vandalized. The door he entered through swung open and stayed that way. She took a quick glance and pulled back to analyze what she'd seen. He was moving down the hall with just a dim flashlight clearing his path.

She shrank back for a few seconds then went into the single person building clearing routine she'd learned during an advanced tactical training class. She silently entered the doorway, stepped immediately aside and remained motionless, all her senses fully alert.

The hallway was dark except for the dim flashlight the man she was following had at the far end of the hall. She took advantage of the light to note there was an over turned chair partway down the hall on the left. She stayed to the right. It was clear on the right. Then the light rapidly dimmed out as he turned and vanished from the hallway. For a moment she was engulfed in total darkness. With no time to waste, she put her hand on the right wall and moved rapidly down the path she knew was clear. By the time she reached the location where he'd vanished her eyes had adjusted to the dark enough that and she could make out the shadowy outlines of a stairwell and continue carefully.

She entered the stairwell and froze, all senses straining to determine where this gunman was. He apparently thought he was alone because she heard him as he climbed the steps with a heavy tread. Proceeding as quietly as she could, she kept track of each flight. After the sixth flight the footsteps stopped. She estimated he had climbed at least one flight before she had arrived at the stairs. As quietly as possible she started her assent. Each step got her one step closer to Castle.

Her heart beat frantically in her chest. She forcibly slowed her breathing. There was no way she would lose him now! Slowly she made her way up the flight of stairs. When she reached the last landing she stopped and listened for steps or voices. She had made it to the fourth floor when she was grabbed from behind and expertly immobilized, feet off the ground, with her mouth covered.

****Don't forget this will continue with weekly updates, after August 7 with longer chapters (hopefully). I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers because without them, my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading. Please review! :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	13. Chapter 13

**Long A/N sorry, but please read! A special "thank you" to fbob who has been with me as my weapons expert, fight sequence expert, and scenerio advisor from the beginning. I have no expertise at all in these areas! Without him all the technical stuff would be a bunch of BS. and the story much less exciting. I'm grateful for his help in making me a better writer! Check out his stories here on fanfic. More special thanks to my two betas who choose to remain anonymous. They fix my crazy grammar mix ups, (Spanish is my first language), my spelling and tenses mistakes. They always seem to find mistakes the other one misses. I hope I'm getting better at it! Thank you for all you guys do, you make me look good! A huge thanks to all of you that read, review, fav and follow, because if you didn't do all of the above I probably wouldn't write. You give me the incentive to be better at this! Thank you all!**

**My entry in the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon!**

Beckett was pinned helpless between the wall and her assailants body, her movements severely limited by his hold on her position between him and the wall. Her feet flailed futilely for purchase just inches off the floor, but the hand clamped over her mouth didn't budge. She struggled as she felt his hot breath at her neck, and the grunt as he forced her tight against the wall. Her mind reeled with the possible outcomes, none of which ended with freeing Castle. She felt the panic start to rise from her stomach, just before reasonable thought took over. Something about this scenario wasn't quite right. The terrorists wouldn't have hesitated to take her out. Why wasn't she dead yet? That's when her captors voice whispered harshly against her ear. "I'm not here to hurt you. We can get him out, together, or you can leave and I can do it alone, but you've got to stop making noise before they hear you."

The sound of Jackson Hunt's voice stilled her immediately, her loathing for the man still coursed through every vein in her body, but the simple truth was he had the skills and expertise she desperately needed at this moment. She knew her chances of rescuing Castle had just greatly improved so she nodded And waited for him to loosen his grip.

Hunt slowly eased her down onto her feet and gently removed his hand from her mouth. He stepped away from her as she turned around and glared at him. She despised the man and what he stood for, but respected his ability to do his job. After so many years as an operative he was still alive, that said something.

He motioned in the direction of the the stairs and she reluctantly followed him, down two flights and into the first empty room.

Beckett turned on him the instant they entered the room, her voice strained with anger, but just barely aabove a whisper. Her eyes communicated the fire in her soul as she spoke, her hands clenched and unclenched at her sides.

"You knew he was here? And said nothing?" She hissed between her teeth. Only Bracken had ever incited such ravenous anger and hate in her.

"I wanted to do recon before bringing you all in, so we had an actual chance of saving my son. I arrived about two hours before you did. They know you're here. The gunshots alerted them and they will be doing everything they can to move Richard to a new location."

"So what do you have?" She didn't want to waste time arguing if he had a good plan already in place to save Castle. Her feelings for the man had to be put aside for Castle's sake.

"Richard was being held on the seventh floor towards the front of the building. The two brothers were with him at all times. Two more men stayed on the same floor, they alternated walking the corridor and standing guard outside of his door. There was one man at the back of the building and the one you took out at the front. I haven't seen anyone else, doesn't mean there aren't more." He looked at her holster and the gun tucked in her belt.

"What are you carrying?"

"I have my Glock nineteen service weapon and my backup Glock twenty six along with the Glock 17 with a silencer, the silencer is in my pocket, along with two spare magazines and a knife that I took from the guy who attacked me." She offered as she lifted the leg of her pants to expose the backup piece.

"Spare magazines for the nineteen and twenty six?"

"No, but the magazines for the seventeen will work in the other two."

"That's it?"

"Yes." She rolled her eyes at him in frustration and she wondered what the hell he expected. Then he finally gave her the information she desperately craved, so she remained quiet and took it all in.

"The fact that they know you're here and that they are going to move him, can work in our favor if we are quick and we work as a team."

"Just tell me what you think we should do."

"We'll split up. You go to their vehicle, I'll follow them down through the building and force them into a rear guard action. With a little luck I'll get one or two of them before they try to exit the building. You set up to flank them where they will leave the building. They'll be trapped between us. If nothing else that will buy us time until backup arrives. If worse comes to worst you kill them when they try to leave the building. They aren't wearing vests so shoot to kill."

"Where are their vehicles hidden?"

"They have one black Jeep Rubicon backed into the brush at the back of the building in the Northeast corner, not far from what used to be the ambulance entrance. I spotted the Jeep from in here, but it probably can't be seen from above. The closest exit to the Jeep is about 50 yards from it. When you get to the main floor follow the corridor to your right to the end. There are two doors there, one ahead leads to the ambulance bay, it's rusted shut. The one to the left leads to an outside entrance used when one ambulance was in the bay and another arrived. That's the exit they will probably use. That corridor has no other exits, so once they're in there, if you are outside, we'll have them trapped.

"If you move the Jeep so it's pointed toward that door and then disable it, that would be great. Just make sure the lights work, you can use the lights to pin them in that foyer - the lights become a third man for us. Check for any other vehicle out there. Once they move Richard we will have them trapped between us. Call your people and let them know. We don't have a lot of time."

"Got it. How will we coordinate?"

"We'll keep in contact by phone."

"Alert me when they're at the door and I'll turn the Jeep lights on, blinding them and exposing their exit route to the Jeep. That ought to make them think twice about leaving. You have plenty of ammo?"

"More than enough. Besides, I can take the weapons from them if I manage to disable one or more. Hopefully, I'll have more than I can carry." He paused a moment then said, "Detective, forget arresting anybody. You see one, you kill him. Put a bullet in their brain. Use that suppressed pistol. We're out numbered, they have submachine guns and a hostage. If you can't do that, I need to know now."

"That won't be a problem." She met his eyes and he saw her steel determination.

Beckett moved away from Hunt to the door. She peeked around the door frame, slid out the door and turned towards the stairwell without another word. She could hear yelling from the floors above as she quietly scurried down the stairs. As she passed each floor she looked to make sure it was clear and continued. Her eyes were well enough adjusted to the dark so that she could navigate the halls by what little light leaked in from the night sky. For the moment at least, her hearing was finely attuned to the noises around her. She could feel the adrenaline as it coursed through her and the steady beat of her heart as it thumped loudly in her chest. Thankfully her hands were still steady. The suppressor made the pistol quite muzzle heavy but she was grateful to see it wasn't shaking.

She moved away from the stairs as she arrived on the main floor of the building. It gave her a good view of the brush out to the back of the building complex where the Jeep was hidden. She spotted it right away exactly where Hunt had said it would be. Following his directions, she took a right and walked down the long corridor until she arrived at the doors.

Outside the crescent moon gave little light, but that made it easier for her to stay hidden while she made her way to the Jeep. She stayed close to the building. Used the shadows cast by the trees to keep her hidden from the terrorists. As she approached the Jeep she noticed one of their men asleep at the wheel.

After a second of thought, she doubled back into the woods so she approached the car from the rear. Out of habit she swept her trigger finger over the extractor on the Glock. It protruded which indicated a round in the chamber. She approached the Jeep with the pistol gripped tightly in both hands at the low and ready. Beckett crouched low in case the terrorist woke up and looked back using the side mirror. The radio suddenly crackled to life when she was within reach of the door, and startled the man awake.

Beckett took advantage of his sleepy confused state, opened the door and put two bullets into his temple before he knew what had happened. The suppressed Glock wasn't silent but she didn't hear it go off either. Blood and brains exploded on the far side of the man's head. He slumped across the center console. The gun slipped from his hand onto the ground by her feet. She quickly placed two fingers to the artery at his throat and felt no pulse. She didn't expect one. Quickly she laid the gun on the roof of the Jeep, grabbed the man by the collar and tumbled him out of the Jeep and onto the ground.

A quick check showed the keys hung loosely in the ignition. She grabbed the gun off the roof, slid into the seat, ignored the blood and gore in the passenger's seat, started the Jeep and drove it forward with the front wheels turned hard left so that the Jeep was pointed right at the door she expected them to exit from. Later, she would learn, that she had driven the rear wheel right over the body of the dead man, and she never felt it. She noted the over grown bushes to the left of the door facing the building and decided that was where she would to go stage her ambush if they decided to leave.

With that settled she jumped out of the Jeep and disengaged the hood clamps and pushed the hood up using the metal rod to keep it open. That's when she decided she had no idea how to disable it, but she could take the keys. Hopefully their other set, if they had one, would be in the pocket of one of Hunt's victims. She lowered the hood, engaged the clamps and returned to the drivers seat. Determined that she could reach through the window to turn on the headlights she lowered the window, removed the keys and closed the car door.

As she turned to the dead driver she could hear the radio crackle to life. The foreign speaking voices became increasingly angry, they yelled names and words in a language she didn't understand, then there was silence. She decided they had been calling the dead driver.

Beckett debated whether or not to call Espo. She decided that if Hunt called while she was on with Espo she'd just switch calls. She hit the speed dial for Espo's cell. He answered immediately, "Beckett? You okay?"

"Yeah. I've got company, Hunt's here."

There is a moment of silence as Espo takes that in. He knows Beckett's dislike for the man.

"Situation report?"

"I'm outside the building. I've disabled their getaway vehicle and killed the driver. Hunt is flushing them out of the building in my direction. I'm going to light up the entrance Hunt's flushing them toward with the Jeep's headlights. Then I'll get in position to flank them if they decide to leave. If they hole up, maybe you can get here with the reinforcements. Where are you?"

"We're 10 minutes out. Where are you right now? What door are they expected to leave from?"

"The exit we think they will use is on the Northeast corner of building 93, it's behind the ambulance bay. Building 93 is the tallest building on the property, go around it to the right as you face the building."

"We'll land in the road about a quarter mile away and hump in from there. There are medic choppers in route as well. I'll update them and Shaw. Where do you plan to stage your ambush?"

"I'll be in heavy overgrowth to the right of their exit door as you leave the building. On the left of the door facing the building. Espo, they're heavily armed. Hunt saw sub machine guns."

Just then she heard the phone beep and saw an incoming call. She instantly touched the screen to answer it. She said, "Hunt?"

"Lights, now!"

She jumped onto the driver side running board of the Jeep, reached in and flipped on the high beams, then sprinted away from the car to her planned ambush location just outside the area lit up by the lights. The bright car lights hurt her night vision and she moved a lot slower than she had anticipated. She arrived against the building and found the spill from the headlights a lot brighter than she'd planned on, but there was nothing she could do about that now. She pushed through the thick underbrush and overgrown bushes, some of which had thorns that tore at her skin and grabbed her clothes. She finally arrived at a position where she could lean into a bush, see out the other side and still be able to fire while maintaining concealment. They would figure out where she was quickly enough but every little bit would help. She made sure her service weapon was ready in her shoulder holster but, based on how it shot, the forward weight bias almost stopped muzzle rise, decided to use the suppressed pistol that still had fifteen rounds, maybe sixteen, left in it. She left the backup on her ankle where it was. She could always drop down to get it. The other pieces were tucked into her belt if needed.

She wondered where Hunt was and if he had been able to successfully separate anymore of the gunmen from the group. She tried not to think about the condition Castle would be in, and the risk to his life if she had to start shooting and was badly outnumbered. She decided her priority target would be the one holding Castle. Her only hope was her belief that they had to keep him alive until they had Hunt. After that all bets were off for everyone.

**My second longest story has 16 chapters, 348 reviews and 270 fav. It's what I'm shooting for right now with this one. My longest is 26 chapters and 571 reviews...who knows it might happen. So please let me know what you think by reviewing. This story is so out of my comfort zone. It's the second case fic I've ever done and I can't begin to tell you how difficult it is to write. It's so much easier to write romance and smut ;)**

****Please, let me know what you thought of this chapter. I'm half way to the 50k words required in the ficathon! Don't forget this will continue with weekly updates with longer chapters (hopefully). Thanks again for reading, please review! :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you! 33 reviews for one chapter! I'm floored and speechless. I hope you enjoy this one as much. In two weeks I'll be moving my youngest to college. My chapters may not be as long, but still weekly. Thank you to everyone who helps make this story what it is, and to all if you who read, review, Fav and Like it. It wouldn't be the same without you all!**

They had beaten him, tortured him and left him without adequate nutrition. Pain radiated throughout his head and coursed through his body as he drifted in and out of consciousness. Castle couldn't remember the last time he had eaten anything, and his liquids had been severely rationed. His mouth and throat felt like sandpaper. His lips were cracked and bled constantly. The pain that wracked his body impaired his thoughts and often disoriented and confused him. He knew his body and mind couldn't take much more of this.

There was no mistaking the familiar noise that startled him. He was certain they were gunshots and they were nearby. At first he thought he had dreamed it, but the brother's reactions and the yelling into the walkie talkie confirmed his suspicions.

She was here, she had to be. He felt it so strongly he could almost taste her. The way the men scurried around meant that their location had been breached, and he knew without a doubt that it had to be her; he needed it to be her.

They rousted him from the bed, shook him roughly making his head thump angrily and his world spun on it's axis. Bouba, the younger brother, yelled in his native language into his walking talkie. The anger and frustration was palpable. If he had, had his way the cocky author would have been dead long ago.

Another one of their group ran into the room. A heated exchange of words passed between the two. Both of them pointed at Castle as they argued. Then they were on him in a flash, as they pulled him off the bed and screamed at him in their language. He stared at them shocked and confused.

"What? I don't understand?" He managed weakly, his voice raspy and dry. They quickly switched to English and bombarded him with questions.

"Who are they?"

"How many are there?"

"How did they find us?"

Castle smiled to himself after the last question. They found him because she would never give up on him, and she was the best out there.

"I don't know! How would I know? I've been right here!"

The backhand sent him reeling across the floor. Blood splattered across the floor under him.

"Get him up!" The order came from Tareq, the older brother, who had just walked in. "What the hell is going on?"

"I heard shots and ran to the front of the building. I saw Bolly beside their car. He's dead! They shot him. I don't know how many there are, but they only have one dark blue sedan. Can't be too many of them, but they took his gun," answered the American named Henderson.

"We need to get him out of here as quickly as possible. Is Bolly's body still at the car?" The other man nodded affirmatively. "Let's get everyone together. We'll take him out the back and drive away from the main road. This place is huge, but they will expect us to go out the way they came in. The Jeep gives us options. Grab all the guns and ammo you can carry, leave everything else."

Castle tried to listen carefully, but the pain in his head was now explosive. Blood once again drooled out the corners of his mouth, the nausea came in waves. There was no way he could walk out of here of his own accord.

They approached him and waved their guns towards the door. He raised himself up onto his elbows to move but his arms quivered and the room spun wildly around him as he dropped back to the floor. Someone yanked him onto his feet and pushed him in the direction of the door, but his legs gave out from under him and he sprawled across the floor.

"الحصول على ما يصل" the gunman yelled as he kicked him in the side to get him moving. "الحصول على ما يصل، حثالة الأمريكية" Castle curled in on himself in pain.

"How many times do I have to tell you he doesn't understand you when you speak our language?"

"Get up!" The other man yelled again this time in English and then kicked him harder to prove a point. Castle barely moved, he barely opened his eyes to look at them.

The older brother pointed his gun at the man who had just kicked Castle and growled, "Do that again and I'll kill you. We need him alive."

The brothers reached down under each arm and pulled Castle to a standing position. They dragged him across the room and then leaned him against the door. Castle could feel his legs start to give out beneath him.

It dawned on Castle that they were going to try to escape and move him to a new location. The longer he could delay their escape the better his chances were of being found. He knew he couldn't fight, but he could make it harder on those moving him.

The brothers lifted his arms over their shoulders and the drug him out of the room. With Castle's dead weight and the position they were in there was no way they could access their weapons easily. Castle forced himself to relax which made him into dead weight. It both slowed them down and reduced their fighting force by at least two. More if they got tired and had to switch. They started slowly down the hall toward the stairwell.

"Not a sound out of you." Henderson warned Castle as he waved the nuzzle of the machine gun in his face.

The other two gunman flanked them as they moved down the corridor, their machine guns pointed at the ready. When they got to the stairway the first gunman made sure it was clear and gave the signal to continue. The stairway was dark, there were no windows to let the night sky help them maneuver the stairs. Everyone had to rely on their night vision.

Castle lost his balance after only four steps and tumbled to the next landing, he crashed loudly against the far wall. His body was in no shape to make this escape. His last thought before he passed out was, "They are too late."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunt had listened intently as they struggled down the two flights of stairs to where he lay crouched and waiting. They continued their downward decent. He knew where they were headed and needed to take out at least one more of their men. The pointman surveyed the area ahead of them and made sure it was clear. Then came a second armed terrorist, just ahead of the two brothers, who holding up an unconscious Castle. The fifth man covered the rear.

Hunt knew his best bet was to eliminate the rear gunman. The building's floors were basically set up the same. One long corridor with one central staircase down the middle, and one on either side that stopped on the third floor on each side. He knew he could beat them down using the side staircase and then making his way to the corridor with the ambulance bays. One of the rooms closest to the central staircase would make a perfect ambush location.

The group stopped on the landing just past the floor Hunt was on to re-assess Castle's possible injuries. Hunt watched the brothers as they tried to adjust Castle's dead weight so it was better distributed between them. After he watched for a few seconds Hunt concluded that Castle was unconscious. He quickly texted Beckett, "They are moving per plan. It looks like Castle is alive but unconscious."

Hunt moved stealthily through the abandoned corridors to his next location and waited. The outcome of this operation relied on his plan working. Katherine and Richard's lives depended on his next actions. From here on in there could be absolutely no room for failure.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunt was certain Castle was no longer fully conscious. He examined the stairwell after they cleared it, he was pretty sure the last fall had his head bounce off a few steps and then finally broke his fall against the wall. The group's determination showed because despite the difficulty moving him the small group kept moving. When he caught glimpses of them he could see the brothers now supported Castle's weight completely. Their desperation to get to the exit did not trump their need to keep him with them and alive, so they had to stop every floor to catch their breath. Hunt moved ahead of them and hid at a good observation point to observe their progress. He could see they were exhausted and growing impatient both with the situation and each other.

They finally made it to the main floor. Hunt heard Castle's feet as they drug behind him, and the brother's footsteps as they carried him. He quietly waited in the darkened corner of the first room. He heard the point man clear the area and continue down the hall. Next came the small group with Castle. By then Hunt had moved flush against the wall by the door. He could see that the last man, a good fifty feet behind them, had a single point sling on his submachine gun. That was good, when he was grabbed him, he wouldn't drop it on the floor and make noise that would attract attention.

Precisely timed, Hunt stepped out from his ambush spot, slipped silently behind the clean-up man, clasped a hand over his mouth, and pulled him back into a room. A second later as the man thrashed he jammed his knife down behind his victim's collar bone into the top of his heart and ripped it from side to side. The man was unconscious in three seconds and dead not long after. The others continued obliviously ... for now. It took only a few seconds to relieve the man of his submachine gun, pistol, and the magazines for both. He was relieved to see it was a suppressed MP5, a gun he was thoroughly familiar with. It fired 9mm pistol rounds and would have negligible recoil. He needed to keep his shots on target to minimize the chances of a ricochet hitting his son. The good news? This gun would be good for that. The bad news? If the others had this same weapon it would be hard for Beckett to prevail against that much firepower. At this point, it was too late to worry about that or change the plan.

Five seconds after that he was back in the hall and on the move.

Hunt moved two rooms closer to the stairwell along the dark side of the hall. Just before the terrorists reached the end of the corridor he moved sideways into an open door. He quickly checked the magazine on the acquired gun, and was relieved to find it was full of what appeared to be 158g lead round nosed bullets. They would be full power but subsonic. Someone had given these guys good advice on their choice of ammunition.

The terrorists reached the end of the corridor when they noticed their friend missing. Hunt heard them call for him. That was followed by clearly audible worried whispering before Hunt heard what he assumed was one of the brothers ordering them to stop talking and continue. _  
_

Hunt set his phone ready to call Beckett. He continued to follow them. When they Reached the end of the corridor, and turned toward the door, called Beckett and whispered, "Lights now!"

He was relieved when less than two seconds later the hallway was flooded with light from the open door. He crouched and when, as he expected one of the men appeared in the doorway, he aimed and fired an accurate three shot burst from the suppressed submachine gun. The man's head exploded blood, brains and teeth as it jerked from the impacts, then he dropped half in and half out of the door. That left three of them for Beckett.

He heard them talking but didn't understand what they were saying. After a few seconds, just to be sure they understood, he fired another burst into the body in the doorway. The shots were quiet enough that he clearly heard the sounds of the bullets hitting the corpse. They would hear it too. His purpose was remind them there was no possible retreat. He shot the corpse so the bullets wouldn't be ricocheting around in the concrete walled foyer to possibly hit Castle.

He made a mental note to avoid stepping in the slippery puddle of blood when he went through the doorway. Then he heard the exit door open and he moved into the hallway.

****I used Google translate for the Arabic phrases. They say, "Get up!" And "Get up, you filthy American!" If it doesn't, I apologize! I don't speak Arabic. Please, let me know what you thought of this chapter. Don't forget this will continue with weekly updates with longer chapters (hopefully). I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers because without them, my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	15. Chapter 15

**This chapter is co-written by fbobs and I. I'm a make love not war person! I drew a picture of where everyone was in the story. Then I wrote out how I wanted it to go. Who shot who? Where? The sequence of events. The end of the chapter. He helped write the beefy stuff. The guns, the action, where they hid, all the nitty gritty. Please give him a hand. Thank you to all who reviewed last chapter you rock! Special shout outs too CYmru64 and Vegasgirltech both reviews made my day! Getting closer to 572 reviews and 50k words everyday! My entry to the 2014 Castle Hiatus Fcathon.**

Shaw was out of breath and a little envious of Esposito who looked like he could have run backwards from the precinct and arrived, with his tricked out AR15, without being winded. Ryan struggled in his suit and street shoes. None of them were used to running while wearing a thirty pound rifle rated vest but under the circumstances the heavier vests with heavy ceramic plates were needed to do the job. They had double timed it for a quarter of a mile and then within 100 yards of the building they saw lights come on at the back of the building where Beckett had told them she expected them to exit. Shaw motioned towards the front door, took her three men and disappeared into the building. As they entered the building, she pointed down the hall. Her team moved in tactical jumps toward where they expected to find their suspects.

They could see the headlights spill from the Jeep into the building then froze when they heard the sound of a suppressed sub machine gun being fired. Shaw was just about to signal them to move forward when a second burst of suppressed fire rang out. She was sure she heard the sound of bullets striking flesh. It was a sound that they all instantly recognized. She motioned them forward and resumed their advance.

A few seconds later they found themselves flattened against the wall as the ear splitting thunder of four un-suppressed shots assaulted their ears. That was followed by the unmistakable last sound of someone dying. Shaw looked around the corner and saw two blood spattered bodies stacked in the lit door way. She saw movement in the shadows, and moved her gun against the doorframe for stability. A man with an AK47 stepped into her line of vision, she pointed and started firing.

Shaw heard shots outside. As she approached the only exit, she stepped carefully around the blood soaked bodies and peered out the door. Blood and brains flew out of the head of the person that appeared to be holding Castle. Castle and his captor fell from her sight. Before she could recover she heard more shots and another man lurched into her view. His head exploded from multiple hits and he toppled on Castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Shaw and her team had advanced towards the front doors, Ryan flanked left around the building with Karpowski, JT and two uniforms. Esposito told him to stay around the corner from the planned exit door and only act to block an escape if the brothers got that far. Out of the corner of his eye Ryan saw Shaw and her team enter the building. After Ryan nodded his understanding, Espo took, Hastings, Valazquez and Gates around the side of the building that would put them closest to the ambulance bays at the back, because that was where Beckett had told him the standoff would take place.

As they progressed back along the side of the building there was a sudden eruption of light some of which spilled around the corner near the end of the building. Esposito took off at a dead run right next to the building. In the diminishing wedge of shadow he saw a tall dark form gracefully sprint toward a large overgrown area a few yards from the building. After his eyes adjusted for a couple of seconds he knew for sure it was Beckett. She moved in behind the brush then fought her way in it to get in a better shooting position. He watched her carefully.

When he realized she wasn't going to look in his direction, he continued forward and peered through a crack in the doors into the Emergency Room Foyer. He saw Castle fully supported between two large men, definitely unconscious. The third man scouted ahead of them and was about to exit through the back door. It would put Beckett in position to flank them. Espo didn't dare move forward until they had committed to exit the building, because he'd be a perfect target in the headlights. He did, however, move forward enough to spot a body in a congealing pool of blood, in the hall that lead to the foyer.

Esposito turned to his team, motioned them close and whispered, "They are about to exit the rear of the building. I'll wait until Beckett starts shooting, then move up and shoot from the corner of the building when and if I get a clear shot."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kate focused intently on the rear of the building. Her hands shook and her vision narrowed to just that door. She could hear them as they approached. When they appeared at the door the two brothers were behind what was apparently their point man. He stepped back, turned around and argued because she heard unintelligible loud, angry voices.

She caught another quick glimpse of them as she settled into the spot she had picked. She raised her weapon to train it on the door when their point man hesitated at the door, a moment later they came through the door. The point man exited the building crouched low, moved five feet out and turned a quick circle with his eyes and gun. Beckett knew he hadn't seen her because he didn't shoot. It was obvious to Beckett that the headlights from the Jeep temporarily affected his eyesight. He moved a few feet toward Beckett, as he studied the brush covered area. She froze and was thankful that her gun was flat black and wouldn't give off any flashes of reflection. She was concerned her face and hands might show but didn't dare move. A few seconds later, he spun around, grabbed the door and motioned for the two men holding Castle to make their exit.

As soon as they were clear of the door the point man turned back to the door and aimed his AK from the hip. Beckett fired four quick shots. She would learn later two of them missed right and hit the glass door, one hit the man in his left shoulder blade, the fourth, she learned later, went over his shoulder into the room and through a back wall narrowly missing one of the FBI assault team crouched there.

She thought she had missed because her target only flinched, held his AK on his hip and fired several shots as he stepped back into the building. Beckett felt a stinging pain in her side when suddenly the doorway was riddled with gunfire. The gun man fell half in and half out of the door, blood spurted from multiple wounds littered throughout his body.

Beckett's attention immediately turned to the two men left holding Castle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hunt was making his way toward the door when the point man turned for a last check after the brothers passed him. Hunt knew in that moment he should have waited. His gun moved way too slowly, he saw right down the barrel of the AK. His last thought was, "Shit." He felt tremendous pain and his last mental image was black.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At that precise moment Shaw and her people rushed around the corner. The point man never saw what hit him. Between the shots from Shaw's pistol and her teammates AR the point man was down in seconds. From where they stood Shaw couldn't see Castle or the two men holding him up. She bent over Hunt and felt for a pulse against his throat.

"He's alive but his pulse is dangerously weak. Get something here fast!" Avery pulled his cell phone out, called for ambulances and two medical evacuation choppers, as the rest of the team advanced down the corridor.

Shaw's team cleared the area and sprinted to the other end of the corridor in seconds. At the door she mentioned for her people to stop. Before her were the brothers as they desperately pulled Castle along. One brother had his gun in his hand the other had his MP5 hanging from his strap.

The way they were supporting Castle, she had no clear shot. She wouldn't risk his life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beckett saw the brother's moment of confusion when they heard the gunshots behind them. The brother closest to her held his gun to Castle's side at an awkward angle. He had it pointed at Castle's liver. If he pulled the trigger, Castle would die an awful death. She lifted her gun and took careful aim, when the gunman turned his head to look at the commotion behind him, she squeezed a shot into his head. It entered through the base of his skull and she watched as he collapsed forward and took Castle down with him.

The other brother turned and shot blindly in Beckett's direction. He got two shots off into the brush, one of which tore through her upper thigh. She dropped to the ground instantly. Then his body jerked violently forward as multiple shots rang out. she watched through the brush as bullets ripped through his throat, chest and the last shot hit his cheek and blew the side of his face off. The man fell limply across Castle's body. Both Espo and Shaw stood with their guns aimed in his direction.

Beckett made an agonized howl of anguish, pushed herself up with her arms and one legand lunged out of the bush only to fall full length on the ground. She discovered her right leg didn't want to work, ignored it, dropped her gun and crawled frantically toward Castle thrashing with her three operational appendages. She heard odd strangled mewing sounds and was almost to Castle when she realized they were coming from her.

Esposito appeared in her peripheral vision, carefully looked into the doorway and then apparently yelled because she saw Shaw step over a body in the doorway and head for Castle. Shaw, Beckett and Esposito arrived at the pile of bodies at the same moment. She fought off blinding pain in a desperate effort to reach Castle and managed to wedge her hand under the brother on top of him to Castle's neck. Her tenuous grasp on sanity was at risk as she felt for, and finally found a pulse. Relief flooded through her as her fingers felt a weak but steady beat thrum though her fingers.

"Wake up, Castle! Come on open those eyes and wake up." She begged him as she continued her search.

Blood covered every inch of Castle's neck, back and hair. Beckett, frantically searched what she could see and feel of his body for bullet wounds. There was too much blood. She had to stop the bleeding before help got there, her emotional and psychological limit finally being reached.

"You're not getting out of marrying me this easily, Castle. Do you hear me?" She tried their banter in desperation. His pale face showed no expression. She didn't care who watched or the consequences right now as tears streamed down her face openly.

Ryan had arrived unnoticed, gently touched her shoulder and spoke softly, "Beckett, the paramedics we called for are here. You need to let them work on Castle. He's alive, Beckett. You need to be looked at too. When Castle wakes up you need to be there for him." He reached out and gently pried her away, but she refused to let Castle out of her sight.

The paramedics had to split their time between Hunt and Castle for the next fifteen minutes. They all looked up when they heard the Medical choppers overhead. Esposito left to guide them to a landing spot in the parking lot.

With her wounds wrapped and stabilized Beckett held Castle's hand as they waited for transport. Shaw walked over to her.

"The choppers are for Hunt and Castle. Hunt was shot four times. I have no idea why he isn't dead. He's in critical condition. Castle is critical too. The medic said he's been beaten almost to death, very dehydrated, and apparently hasn't had a meal in days so he gets the other chopper. They can't carry more than one patient and the medical teamin each chopper. I'll make sure you go to the same hospital as Castle but you will have to wait for the ambulance. It should be here in a few minutes. Agents will be assigned to protect each of you for the time being. We aren't taking any chances. Hopefully this is over but until we know that for sure, you three are all under twenty four hour protection." Beckett nods her acknowledgement over the loud sound of the choppers. She doesn't have any words anyway.

Kate watched as Agent Shaw walked toward the corner of the building closest to the chopper that would transport Castle. Their eyes met for a moment before the doors swung open and more help jumped out.

Kate reached down and ran her fingers through his hair, and wiped it away from his forehead. She bent over and brushed her lips across his brow. "Don't you dare give up, Castle. Do you hear me? I love you." Her fingers slipped through his as the medics lifted his gurney and carried him towards the waiting chopper. She felt her body waver, then strong arms wrapped around her waist. Ryan and Espo appeared on either side of her. Both of her boys, Gates and the crew of the 12th watch as one of their own was loaded in.

****Please, let me know what you thought of this chapter. Don't forget this will continue with weekly updates with longer chapters (hopefully). I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers because without them, my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you all for reading and reviewing. Last chapter had more reviews then any of the previous ones. Thank you! I love hearing from you all. As you know my twins are off to college this Sunday. This is a big thing for me. I keep getting misty eyed and emotional. I'm not sure if there will be a chapter this coming week. Just fair warning just in case I'm a wreck. Thank you for reading, writing this has helped me so much! This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon.**

Shaw slammed the ambulance doors closed. In less than 25 minutes Beckett would be at the Stony Brook University Trauma Center, Castle's chopper would be there before her ambulance made it to the end of the driveway! She hoped everyone would pull through. Years ago she had pegged Castle and Beckett as being together, her instincts weren't usually wrong, that time they were just premature.

The minute the ambulance door had slammed shut Beckett's heart thundered loudly in her chest, her eyes glassed over in a primal fear that sent waves of nausea through her body. Raw panic clawed its way through her chest, her lungs struggled to take in her next breath. Her hands trembled and she knew she couldn't stop it, not this bad. Then her vision darkened, tunneled, and finally went black.

It was so damn realistic. She was back there, the day when the cloudless blue sky betrayed the somber mood that surrounded them and a sea of NYPD dress blue uniforms stood mournful before her. A gunshot sliced through the silent crowd, as her words immediately caught in her throat. Controlled pandemonium reigned. People yelled, sirens blared but it was the blue of his eyes and the tone of his voice that echoed through her head and nestled in her chest along with the sniper's bullet.

"Kate. Shh. Kate, please. Stay with me, Kate. Don't leave me, please? Stay with me, okay? Kate, I love you. I love you, Kate." Pain, blood, white lights, sirens, the squeaky sound of the gurney wheels as they skidded down the corridor flooded back and threatened to drown her.

Thee stinging burn in her arm barely registered and then the blissfulness of nothing. As the fogginess began to dissipate, her senses recognized the familiar sounds, smells, and finally sight of the hospital. The beeping of the monitors, the sterile odor of disinfectant and the stark bright lights that filtered even through closed eyelids. Disoriented at first she couldn't remember why she was here, then the rush of memories from the last 24 hours bombarded her. Her eyes popped open and she jerked fully awake, her body thrashed about in a state of terror as she tried to get up.

"Where's Castle? Where is he? Is he alive?" She screamed.

"Just relax Katie." She recognized the sound of her father's voice as it finally permiated her consciousness, but it didn't answer her question. Kate's eyes wandered around the room wildly, she felt her father's hand gently guide her back down onto the bed. "Castle's still in surgery they took him in as soon as he got here. He was in pretty bad shape, but if anyone can pull through it's that one. He'd claw his way through hell to get to you, Kate. Now lay back, and rest until we get news."

Just as her father finished talking an older looking doctor walked in. "Hello, I'm Doctor Stepman, your surgeon. You've had a rough time of it, Detective. You were lucky the bullet that pierced your leg went through and through, without hitting any arteries. The other bullet grazed your side without any damage to any organs. Neither bullet mushroomed or expanded, so the damage was a lot less than I'd have expected. You suffered an acute panic or stress reaction in the ambulance and had to be sedated. We'll keep you for at least the next 24-36 hours for observations and to regulate the pain meds. A nurse will be in soon with pain medication. Any questions?" Everyone shook their heads. They all knew Beckett wouldn't be setting foot out of that hospital until Castle did.

"Thank you, Doctor." Beckett replied weakly as he stepped back out into the corridor. The nurse entered and moved to her IV. "This will help with the pain, and will make you sleepy."

"What is this? I don't need anything." Kate argued with the nurse. " I need to be clear minded. I need to be awake when Castle gets here."

"Detective Beckett, you can't heal properly without proper rest. How can you help anyone if you yourself need help." The nurse attempted to insert the medication directly into the IV.

"I need you to get the doctor back in here! I can handle the pain. I don't want the pain meds, right now." The nurse looked at Mr Beckett for help. He just shrugged his shoulders, and she rolled her eyes and left the room.

Within a few minutes the doctor returned. "What seems to be the problem, Ms. Beckett?"

"It's Detective Beckett, and I want to be alert. It's imperative that I be able to stay alert. I don't want to spend most of my time in a drug induced sleep. The pain is tolerable and I don't need or want any narcotic medication."

"I suggest that you take it to relax your body and help it heal itself faster. We can't force it on you. I can prescribe a non-narcotic pain reliever. It will make you more comfortable but won't dull your sense. If the pain gets too be to much call the nurse and she will give you a dose of the narcotic."

"I would appreciate that, thank you."

"I'll write the order for you now. But if the pain gets to be too much call the nurse and she will give you a dose of something stronger."

"Thanks again."

"No problem, I hope your stay here is short." The doctored walked over to the nurse and after a short conversation about the medication continued his rounds.

As soon as the door closed behind them, Shaw moved to the foot of the bed to get her attention. The pained look on Beckett's face was obvious and she was glad to see the nurse return with the medication.

"The doctor prescribed this non narcotic pain relief. It will keep you alert, but it won't keep you awake if you are tired. The stronger narcotic is still an option if you want it."

Shaw waited for the nurse to leave before talking. "Kate, Hunt's also in surgery. His prognosis wasn't good when we were last updated. He was shot four times and lost a lot of blood. According to the medics he coded in the chopper but they were able to re-establish his heart beat and respiration. I have a man outside of both ER's and there will be one outside all your rooms as well as a security checkpoint to get into this ward. Martha and Alexis are being escorted here as we speak, they should be here soon."

She tried to focus on Shaw's words, but the pain in her side and thigh was bad. All she wanted to know was Castle's condition, "Jordan, I need to know what Castle's condition is, that's it. Now you tell me or I'll get up and go find out."

"Castle has an infection in his jaw where they ripped out the tooth. His nose is broken. He has a number of broken ribs one of which punctured his lung. He has a broken collar bone and cracked sternum. There may be some organ damage and they know there is evidence of deep brusing and internal bleeding. He's in surgery now. They said they were going to open up his abdominal cavity and perform exploratory surgery to be sure they have correctly assessed the damage. He also had a bad concussion and will probably be put in a cold coma to minimize swelling. Brain swelling is his second biggest problem based on what they told me. He may not be concious for several days until they are confident he isn't going to be killed by a delayed reaction to the concussion and brain bruising. He didn't regain conciousness. They said they were going to shave part of his head and do a tap to monitor cranial pressure. That's all I know."

"Oh my God. I was too late, I was too damned slow." Tears start to well in her eyes.

"Kate, you accomplished what I regard as a miracle rescue. You and Hunt were outnumbered 3 or 4 to one, out gunned, and you got him and you out of there alive. That was a one in a million shot and you did it. However this turns out, you hold your head up high. That was an awesome effort."

Kate tried to argue but her strength was fading and she just needed to sleep. She let the sleep come.

Hours later she startled awake, "Castle?" She mumbled. Her dad nodded no. "Dad, what if it's not over? "

"Kate we have security, your friends have been here. You are both safe."

"We need to be here for him. He will need us...please. I need him." She mumbled as she closed her eyes and tried to focus on the good times. For the first time she understood the pain her father had experienced when her mother died.

Shaw and Martha pulled every string they'd could. When Kate Beckett opened her eyes the second time there was an empty bed next to her, equipped with monitors and an IV pole. Her Dad smiled at her as she questioned him with her eyes.

"Welcome back, Katie Bug. How are you feeling?"

"Dad? Is that for Castle?" She asked as she reached for his hand.

"Yes, Kate it is. Remind me never to go up against your friend Agent Shaw and Martha Rogers. Those two together are a lethal weapon on unsuspecting people." He shook his head in a moment of apparent disbelief and admiration. "Castle is in recovery, and as soon as it is deemed safe he will be transferred here. Under regular circumstances he would go to ICU, but you will have your own ICU nurse and your doctors have agreed to see you both here. Shaw has this area completely secured for both of your safety. He's still listed in critical condition, but he has made it through the surgery. You haven't answered me though. How are you?"

"I've been shot. Twice. It hurts, but this is nothing compared to the last time. I signed up for this Dad. Castle didn't. This is going to be hell for him and his family."

"Kate, you two have built an incredible family. You have Alexis, Martha, myself and that crazy but dedicated crew at the 12 th. I've never seen coworkers so invested in each other. Castle will struggle, this is psychological as well as physical, but he has a support system like no other."

"What if he pushes us away? What if he decides he wants to do this alone?" This so an eye opener for her into what he went through when she was shot.

"Are we talking about, Castle, Katie? From everything you've told me and I've seen, Castle thrives on human interaction. Especially yours, that man has loved you for so long. He will want you with him. I'm certain of it. He's every bit as tough as you are, Katie. If he was going to leave because of stress, he'd be long gone. He will need support from you and others, probably a psychologist, to work through this, but I've no doubt he will."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Beckett and Castle in good hands, Esposito, responded to Ryan's earlier phone call, and returned to the crime scene at the abandoned mental hospital. Espo and Ryan were in the room next to where Castle had been kept. There were a handful of sub-machine guns, with plenty of ammunition, handguns, knives, and a few vests. In the other room there were duffles stuffed with clothes, tools, notebooks, and a laptop that were all sent to Quantico to be analyzed.

"This is where you were when you called me?"

"Yup. This is only part of it, but this is where I was when I made the call. The pictures I sent were that pile of weapons over there. I bet they charged the laptop in the Jeep, since there was no electricity. They used battery operated lamps at night."

"Something's not right here." Espo mumbled under his breath. "I can't quite put my finger on it."

"What?" Ryan returned.

"Look bro, these guys had enough fire power to light up this town. Between what's here and what they had on them they should have been able to fight off Beckett and Hunt. They had them outnumbered and out gunned. That tells me they were well equipped, but they weren't professionals. Pro's wouldn't have been taken out so easily. There were five of them against Hunt and Beckett. Granted they are good, but with all this firepower. These guys were trained, but just barely. They were blindly following orders."

"So, you don't think this was about Hunt?"

"Could be, I dunno, but if I'm right then there's still someone else out there. Someone who pulled their strings. There was a higher objective. This was just some sort of operation. Their real mission wasn't completed." Espo and Ryan look at each other. "If this isn't over castle and Beckett's friends and families are in danger, and that would include us, Jenny, Lanie, Gates, and maybe her family. We're all in danger."

Just then Shaw came around the corner and walked into the room. She had heard some of their conversation. "Finger prints were sent digitally to the National Counter Terrorist Center."

Shaw pointed down the hall. "We also found a long range radio in one of the other rooms. They were definitely communicating with someone out there, and we have to find out who. Until we do, I completely agree: Castle, Beckett, Hunt and our families are not safe. I'll get Federal Marshal's assigned to protection details right away." She poked her phone as she walked out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The room was dark except for the lamp on corner of the mahogany desk. Dark shadows stretched across the room, and partially covered the man who stood motionless behind his desk. His face hidden in the shadows as smoke from his cigar curled into the light. He waited in silence for news.

The door opened and in walked a large muscular man, cell phone to his ear. The scar across his cheek deformed the left side of his face, and the cut throat tattoo across his neck made him menacing. He barked the orders into the phone, "Take care of it, and do it now!" Then he shook his head in disgust and looked over at his boss.

"Detective Beckett, Castle and Hunt are at the Stony Brooke University Hospital. She was listed in stable condition, Hunt and Castle are listed in critical condition. None of our men survived."

"They failed, Walker!" The man growled as his fat beefy fist slammed the desk top. Hot ashes dropped from the end of his cigar and onto his hand. The man didn't even flinch. "Our men are dead. Hunt's still alive and so are the writer and his detective. I want them gone! Do you hear me? Dead and dismembered is fine with me. I don't care how you do it!"

Walker smiled at the man behind the desk, the scar made it look evil and lopsided. Definitely not someone you'd want to meet in a dark alley. He didn't mind if he got his hands dirty at all, he actually enjoyed playing with his food, and was looking forward to it.

The other man walked into the light, just inches away from Walker's face. His dark eye are cold and menacing, his bald head grossly misshapen because of some kind of accident. His English was flawless, but the accent betrayed him. "Don't fail. I lost my best operative because of these three. We don't know how much they know, and Hunt has been a thorn in my side long enough."

Walker drew his gun out of it's holster. "You shouldn't have sent inexperienced fools do the job of an expert. This is all I need, and some ammo." Then he turned and walked out the door. The other man stood and watched.

**Don't forget this will continue with weekly updates with longer chapters (hopefully).(except possibly the week of Sept. 1) I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers because without them, my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!**


	17. Chapter 17

**This week has been rough. I didn't think I'd be able to write. My youngest daughter's went off to college and it has been harder to deal with then I thought. I miss them terribly. Then my dog can't climb the stairs all of the sudden, and one of my best friends father was diagnosed with cancer. I had there paragraphs done and then I was given the push I needed. I hope you guys enjoy it. I needed something to be thankful for so I gave it to Beckett and her family! I could use some positives right now. So if you like this chapter please let me know! This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Summer Hiatus Ficathon!**

It had been two long weeks since Castle was rushed through the hospital, close to death. Two weeks where they watched, waited, prayed and bargained with the devil for a glimpse of his baby blues. She imagined every worst case scenario. Her dreams were littered with him dying or in a irreversible coma. Worse were the dreams where he woke up but didn't recognize her, or had forgotten what they had built together. Those times she would wake up tears streaming down her face, her heart pounding rapidly in her chest as she tried to catch her breath. Too many times in the last month she had felt he was lost to her and his family.

Dehydration had caused his kidneys to start shutting down, the decrease in blood flow to the brain and the intense trauma to his body had caused the coma. The doctors had felt a cold coma would be beneficial due to the swelling from the beatings and concussions, and she had struggled with Alexis and Martha with the decision. Finally, they had decided to let nature take it's course. The broken ribs had lacerated his lungs and surgery had been required. None of it caused permanent damage and with proper treatment and time would probably be reversed, but only time would tell.

Castle had been in ICU the first three days and had limited visitation. ICU was too small to accommodate everyone, so they took turns. He was moved into her room the day she was discharged, but she never left much to the chagrin of one of the nurses. Kate had asked her if it was possible for her to shower in the bathroom in his room. "Bloody Bathroom Nazi" as the group referred to her was flat out against it. She didn't even want her changing her clothes in that bathroom. Thank goodness the other nurses had been more accommodating, and she made sure everything was taken care of before she came on shift.

The room was sterile, not very different from the room she had woken up in after her shooting. There was his bed, a cot and a recliner along with the medical instruments and a generic picture of some foreign countryside. Beckett had wondered if all hospitals bought art like that for the rooms to encourage patients to want to get better. She remembered her room had a mountainside scene with snow capped mountains. A small bag with clothes, toiletries and bandages to change her wounds resided on his nightstand, her crutches leaned against the wall.

Alexis and Martha had taken turns staying with them throughout the day. Alexis read him _Casino Royale,_ while Martha regaled him with stories from her acting school. Sometimes the three of them would play cards together. The dark circles under Martha and Alexis' eyes were an indication of their lack of sleep, even though they returned to the loft each night after having dinner together.

Kate knew she was in a bad place. She was doing everything she could to reduce the stress that slowly consumed her and pushed her down the rabbit hole. Not knowing if they were safe, or if there would be another strike on the life of those she loved was eating her alive. She couldn't help or be involved in the investigation. It was easier when the threat had been solely about her. Her PTSD had been contained but the blinding panic hit her constantly.

The boys and Lanie stopped by as often as possible, but they were working overtime doing everything possible to make sure everyone was safe. Gates and the boys suspected that the gunmen, had not acted alone. They were checking financials, phone records and anything that they thought would help. Shaw looked into known associates and had contacted the Terrorism Task Force. Agents had been dispatched to their last known addresses. Even with her clearance they hadn't received anything new and had no new leads. They were now calling in favors left and right.

Kate hadn't left the hospital after she had been discharged. Hadn't left his room unless it was to bathe, change her clothes or go to physical therapy. She rambled on to him about everything, held his hand, and occasionally brushed a kiss across his forehead or cheek. She talked about his family, the case and the 12th, but he never stirred. It was hard to see him so quiet and unmoving, when he was usually bigger than life. Late into the night, Kate would push the chair as close to the bed as possible, cradle her head in her arms, and while still holding his hand finally fall asleep. Exhaustion once again won the battle against her.

The first thing he noticed was the smell of the hospital and the incessant sounds of the machines he was hooked up to. The warm hand with the long fingers curled in his hand had to be hers. Thankfully the lights had been turned off and the gentle lights used so the nurse could check in on him, didn't hurt his eyes. When he finally looked down he found her head nestled in her arms. Her face tilted towards him, tears tracked across her cheeks, her brow creased with tension even as she slept. With great effort he moved his hand and placed it on her head. His fingers wove through her hair. She stirred in her sleep. He struggled to speak and the pain and rawness in his throat from the breathing tube made it difficult.

Her subconscious felt the weight of his fingers in her hair. She started to stir. Finally she startled awake. Her eyes, her face, were a kaleidoscope of relief and anxiety as she realized that he was finally conscious. For the next few moments she searched in his eyes and explored whether or not he was still the Rick Castle she loved? Did he recognize her? It was his eyes that spoke volumes, as their strange connection clicked once again and she let out a sigh of relief.

She reached for the call button immediately. Kate looked at him and could see the terror build behind his eyes. The breathing tubes still helped him to breath and he had to relax before he injured himself. He didn't have the strength to move his arms toward the tube and his body spasmed.

"Try to relax Castle. It's a breathing tube. They'll come and take it out as soon as they get here. It was helping you breathe." She struggled to stand up. Her cast made it difficult to do anything quickly but she finally stood, placed her hand on his shoulder and made sure he looked at her as he spoke. "They're coming. I promise they're on their way."

The door swung open and his nurse entered followed by his doctor and an intern.

The nurse looked at the doctor, who studied the vitals on the monitor for a second, then nodded. The nurse immediately removed the tape that held the tube in place. She looked at Castle and said, "This will feel uncomfortable for a moment, and you might feel like coughing or gagging. If you can breathe out as I remove it, it will help with the need to cough or the gag reflex. I'll do it quickly."

The nurse held his gaze as she pulled the tube from his throat without incident.

Castle gasped for air and coughed. Pain seared across his chest instantly and Kate watched him struggle for several seconds before he was able to make an intelligible sound, "Kate." His voice was hoarse and barely over a whisper. She could see in his eyes how much pain he was in.

It was the first time she had heard his voice in two months and the sob wracked through her body escaped before she could stop it. After a few seconds she managed, "I'm here, Castle." She reached for his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

She turned and addressed the doctor, "Is there anything you can give him for the pain?"

The doctor said, "The pain medication that will be administered to him will make very drowsy and foggy. It is narcotic stronger than Percocet called Dilaudid. We'll set up a PCA pump so he can administer the medication as needed, but we'll give him a dose right now through the IV port. It's going to be a while before the pain in his chest from the broken the ribs and the pulmonary laceration surgery diminish. It will take less time for his other broken bones to heal as they are cast." The nurse left to get the medication and order the pump. "Right now he needs to rest as much as possible. His body will heal itself faster if given the proper rest."

"Mr. Castle you definitely have a long and difficult recovery ahead of you, but if you follow directions now, then work hard later you'll be able to make an almost complete recovery. Do you have any questions?" Kate shook her head and the doctor turned and left as the nurse re-entered the room.

Kate got an overwhelming feeling of dread as she looked at the nurse. There was still an officer stationed outside the door. He had a list of people allowed into the room, and all of them had passed a security check run by Shaw. She wasn't about to risk his life.

"Do you mind if I look at the bottle before you administer it?" She asked the nurse. The nurse looked at her suspiciously but still walked over and handed the bottle to Kate. Kate took a picture of label, made sure the name and dose showed clearly and sent it to Lanie. She knew Lanie was at work and would answer her right away. She also noticed that the bottle's seal was still intact.

As she returned the bottle to the nurse, Lanie texted back that it was a good medication for Castle, given his injuries. Then she asked if he was finally awake. Kate breathed a sigh of relief as she watched the nurse administer it into the IV, then had responded that he was awake. When the nurse left Kate pulled herself up and stood next to him. She brushed a gentle kiss across his lips, "Sleep Babe, the rest will help your body heal, and you know how much I love that body." She winked at him, and she saw the corners of his lips curl up. She ran the back of her fingers gently across his cheek. "Close your eyes Babe. I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here when you wake up. I love you."

His lips moved, but barely a whisper escaped as he spoke, "I love you." He blinked his eyes a couple of times as he fought to stay awake a few more seconds, he had wanted to ask her about her injuries, but then the medication had won and he fell asleep.

Kate plopped back into her chair and was thankful for everything that had happened today. He had woken up, he had recognized her and spoken. She knew he was going to be in extreme pain, but she had been so afraid that there would be brain damage. Her phone buzzed and she looked down. Lanie had responded "thank goodness!"

Kate took a few minutes to compose herself, picked up the phone and dialed, "Hello, Alexis? He woke up! Yes, he woke up and spoke a few words. He recognized me. Yes, he's in a lot of pain and they are going to give him a drip to self administer the pain medication. I know sweetie. I'm going to call Martha as soon as I get off the phone with you. I wanted to call you first. Yes, definitely come in tomorrow morning..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They had worked Castle's case non stop. Everyone at the 12th doing everything they could to solve this. Espo and Ryan had been there all day, and it was well past quitting time.

"Hey, Javi take a look at this. I think I found something. I was able to find off shore bank accounts for the brothers, and local bank account for two of the other men. The brother's had $100,000.00 transferred into their accounts on the same day that two of the other gunmen had $50,000.00 transferred into theirs. I don't think that's a coincidence." Ryan continued. "All the transfers bounce through several banks, but it can't figure out who made the transfer."

"That tells me that they aren't safe. These guys were working for someone and their mission is definitely not complete. We need to talk to Gates and Shaw about this, Ryan."

****Please, let me know what you thought of this chapter. Don't forget this will continue with weekly updates with longer chapters (hopefully). I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers because without them, my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	18. Chapter 18

**Surprise! Yes, two chapters in one weekend. Bet you didn't expect that, but it is shorter than usual. I'm hoping I can get enough words in to make the challenge. Either way though this has been quite a ride and we're not finished yet. I hope you enjoy This chapter and let me know what you think. This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon.**

The precinct had been hot bed of activity since Castle had been rescued. Beat cops and detectives alike wandered to the Homicide floor and offered their support. No one had any clue that Castle had touched so many people. A uniform that Ryan hadn't recognized had come up and offered to come in on his day off to do whatever they needed. Castle had helped him get his brother into rehab. A detective in robbery offered his help and had told them how Castle had driven him home to his wife, who had gone into labor, then driven them to the hospital. When his son was born he sent flowers and a check for $1,000.00 to start his college fund. Officers came out of the woodworks and everyone had a story in which Castle had gone out of his way for them.

Today was no different. The conference room was packed with people. Two boards were set up with timelines and pictures. Coffee cups littered the table as well as the stereotypical donut boxes. Everyone inside was extremely animated as they talked and rummaged through every detail.

In the bullpen Ryan poured over the data on his computer as he followed the money trail. Espo talked to the Chicago PD and the FBI as they organized a search of the two dead men's addresses.

"This makes no sense!" Ryan ran his hand through his hair. "Javi, Come look at this."

Espo came around his desk and stood over Ryan's shoulder. His eye focused on the information on Ryan's screen.

"Ok, so I finally traced the money trail all the way to The Bank of Moscow. That's in the Yasenevo district of Moscow near the Siberian border. It bounced through banks in the United Arab Emirates, Switzerland, and Jamaica before hitting the Caymens for the brothers and Wintrust Bank in Chicago for the other two. Most of the men at Kings Park were Libyan's, a couple of Canadian's and an American. How did the Russian's get involved? I just don't get it? Moscow?"

"Hey man, weren't the people who abducted Alexis foreigners? Could this still be connected to that?"

"I remember Castle saying something about that. He never said much about the entire incident other than the French government had contorted the story and he had to stick by it. Maybe we should ask Beckett?"

At that moment Shaw came out of the conference room. "You two have anything on the money trail yet?"

"Ryan here, traced it back to a bank in Moscow." That was definitely not what she had expected. Shaw was confused as she looked over at Ryan who nodded affirmatively.

"Moscow? What the hell's in Moscow? Are you sure that's the end of the trail, Ryan?"

"Positive, and I'm not sure it's going to be easy for us to find out in what form it was deposited. We need some major pull to get that done."

Shaw gave them a small smile and a shrug as she walked away from the desk, pulled out her phone and started dialing. Espo looked down at a Ryan. "You think she can get it done? Bro, I think this is big. We need more information from Castle and Beckett."

Just then Gates came out of the conference room and approached her detectives. The boys repeated their findings to her.

"Has anyone heard from the FBI or Chicago PD on the searches of the gunmen's apartments?" She asked.

"Nothing yet, Sir." They answered in unison.

Gates looked at them with a raised eyebrow and said, "Here I thought on only Castle and Beckett did that. Go update Detective Beckett and let me know what she thinks when you get back." When they nodded she turned and walked back into the conference room.

Ryan jumped out of his chair and met Espo as he pulled his jacket on and walked to the elevator.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walker had been canvassing the hospital four days after they had been admitted. It had been a challenge getting him half way around the world quickly. He knew Hunt was still in ICU. There were cops stationed at ICU entrance and another one sat outside his room. All who entered the area were checked against a master list unless it was an emergency.

Hunt's condition was still listed critical. He was in an induced coma, and had undergone five different surgeries since his arrival. No one had come down to visit him the entire time he had been there. He was grateful that he wouldn't have to deal with his family when the time came.

He had been able to snag a custodial ID and re-imaged his picture onto it. Steven Carlton won't know his part in this until it was too late. His presence on the ICU floor was not unusual. He had made multiple visits to the floor daily, to clean trash, stock the bathroom, clean up spills, and that was just how he wanted it.

For now he would watched. Kept notes detailed of the comings and goings of doctors, nurses, kitchen staff delivering food, lunch, dinner, breaks and shift changes. He had time. Hunt wasn't going anywhere anytime soon and when he got the opportunity he would make his move and disappear in a blink of an eye.

Getting close to Hunt was far easier than getting close to the other two. Their floor was highly monitored. There were cops at the elevator, near the nurses desks and two outside their door. Not to mention that there was always someone with them. Getting to them was going to be much harder.

Today had been a long day. He had been at the hospital all day monitoring the author and the detective's floor. They had been alone all morning, except for the doctor and nurses. The cops stationed at their posts never left without an immediate replacement. He had even tried to get the trash bin out of their room and was kept outside as the cop got it for him.

He had watched as the detective left the room to go to physical therapy around noon. She had been accompanied by an officer all the way to the therapy room, had stayed with her through the session, and escorted her back. Finally he had an opportunity to work with the detective. He would have to find a place on the route to physical therapy where he could make his move.

Room 24 was dark. The furniture, chipped, stained and wobbly. His back attested to the quality of the mattress. Dark spots spread across the comforter. There were mouse and cockroach traps in every corner, and he was sure one was currently inhabited.

He removed his shirt and walked over to the window of the dingy motel. The scar across his chest was still red and raw. The stitches had been recently removed. He was glad this job wasn't physical, and he had time to heal. Washington Heights was the perfect place in this god forsaken stink hole called New York to disappear. No one would choose to live here if they could avoid it. The whore in the room next to his was on her second John since he had walked in the door. Two guys argued out on the street, their voices carried across the parking lot. This was the perfect place to be invisible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The boys arrived after Martha and Alexis left for the day. Castle had been conscious for quite a while during the day and was out like a light. Espo and Ryan had filled her in with the new details. She in turn had shared everything she knew about Alexis' kidnapping with them. With every word she heard, her heart had sunk and her mind had raced with horrific scenarios. Whatever this was, it was more than they thought and they were all in grave danger.

****Please, let me know what you thought of this chapter. Don't forget this will continue with weekly updates with longer chapters (hopefully). I'm honored at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers because without them, my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	19. Chapter 19

**I'm so sorry I haven't been responding to the wonderful reviews being left. Please know that I appreciate each and everyone of them. You guys really inspire me to keep writing. I know this isn't a Pulitzer Prize winner, but it's definitely an accomplishment for the Spanish speaking kid who failed English in 5th grade and again as a freshman in high school. I hated reading until the 11th grade, when I finally learned to read for enjoyment. Then learned to enjoy writing only about 10 years ago. Castle has sparked my imagination and for that I thank everyone involved in the show! Now on with the show!**

Walker liked to play with his victims, and these were no different. He wanted them to know he was there. That he was in their lives and was coming for them. Every sound and movement out of the ordinary would unravel them. Fear would consume them and cloud their eyes. By the time he disposed of his chosen targets, he imagined that they would almost welcomed it. Then in those moments late at night he would relive it all again. That was part of the fun for him, reliving his kills over and over in his mind.

He had watched the author's family in his spare time. The young red head was very pretty, took after her grandmother who was probably hot in her day. He would start with them first, play with Castle's mind.

Alexis, was found rather quickly. He had a picture taken in February a year and a half ago for reference. He searched the websites of the top private schools in the area, then went trolling and discovered a picture of Alexis on the school website with her science fair award from the previous year. From there he found a school newspaper article listing the schools seniors had been accepted too, and the college they were attending. It didn't take him long to find her at Columbia. After that it was easy to learn everything about her routine. Even now, with her security detail, it hadn't been hard to follow them to the loft. From there he followed Martha to her studio and performing at the theater.

If he just wanted to kill them, with the weapons and explosives he had available to him it would been easy. What he wanted was to maybe kill the security detail after today's plan was executed, then take his time with them.

Walker printed the picture he had from his thumb drive, as soon as he arrived in his room. He put on the gloves he had snagged at work, and arranged the pictures across the bed. He wanted to make sure he chose the best ones. The ones that showed he had been very close, sometimes close enough to touch. A picture of Martha as she signed an autograph for him, and one as she bought shoes at Bloomingdales. Alexis' picture showed her as she entering her dorm, and one of her with the security detail on the train. He added a few that showed them as they entered and left their building. Once he had picked the ones he liked he had put them in a brown envelope and sealed it. In an hour he would return to the hospital. Three hours later she would get escorted to her therapy session. For now he would slip the envelope into his back pack, show up early for his shift at the hospital and wait for the perfect opportunity.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Castle had been awake for two hours, that was the longest stretch yet. The orderlies and his security detail had taken him to get a CT Scan earlier, and then he had seen the doctor to get his stitches removed from his chest. It had been a long day for him. He was thankful for Beckett's company. For the last two hours Beckett and he had enjoyed each other's company. They had tried to push everything aside and enjoyed being together. Playing poker had been part of them since he first started following her.

"This is the last hand, Castle. I've got to get to physio in a few minutes."

"You're just jealous because I have all your jelly beans. This hasn't been your day."

"It's ok Castle, I'll win when it counts more." Castle looked over and wiggled an eyebrow at her.

"And when would that be, Beckett?"

"Castle, by the looks of you, if I'm lucky maybe in six months!"

"Are you kidding me? Six months?"

"I'm no doctor, Castle, but it will be when the doctor says so and not a minute sooner." Castle pouted and put on his most pathetic sad puppy dog face.

"Those sad eyes aren't going to work on me, Rick. We need you to focus on getting better and then everything else will fall into place. Now I have to go. I might be trading these crutches in for a cane today." She walked over and brushed her lips against his. "I'll be back in an hour. Stay out of trouble, ok?"

Castle nodded as the door opened and LT stepped in, "Time to go Detective Beckett. How you doing, Castle?"

"Not too shabby, LT as long as I have the pain meds it's bearable. Once they start to wean me off and start physical therapy that will be another story."

"Well, you hang in there and I'll bring her back in a little over an hour."

Castle nodded at Beckett and gave him a small wave before the door closed. He put on a happy face for everyone. He didn't want them to think less of him, he didn't want the dullness that went with the pain meds, but he had never been in so much pain. Not a second after they were out of sight he pushed the button for the pain medication.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beckett waited with LT for the elevator to open. When it did the custodian rolled his cart out and they stepped in. The custodian's face had startled her. She had seen him before on this floor and on her way to her therapy but had never noticed the scar on his cheek or the darkness in his eyes.

"Excuse me ma'am." He mumbled in a heavy accent as he bowed his head.

"No problem," she answered. "Have a good day."

"You too," he responded with a nod of his head as he walked down the hall as the door to the elevator closed behind him. Beckett and LT resumed talking and not another thought was wasted on the custodian as they went to therapy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walker pushed the cart down the hall and was glad this direction had his back to her. He wondered if he'd seen a reaction in her eyes before he glanced away. He knew he had to be careful. People were put off by his face for some reason. He'd learned to hide it most of the time but now and then he liked to enjoy letting them see what was coming. He didn't dare look back at her to check it out. Homicide detectives who were good at their jobs, and she was, were also experts at reading people. That had been close but when she didn't callout to him, he was sure he was safe.

When Walker approached the door to Castle's room, the security detail was not standing by the door. The officer was probably in the john and he would have to move fast. Before he got to the door he pulled the envelope out and held it near the handle where it couldn't be seen. As he walked by the door, he fiddled with one of the bags and dropped the envelope onto the floor and shoved it under the door with his foot. From all his surveillance he knew the hospital camera was down the hall and that the cart would hide his movements. He had always made sure never to face any of the cameras, and keep his head down. He grabbed a spray bottle and cleaned a window on the other side of the hall. The nurses at the main nursing station didn't even look his way. They were pushed to the limit with patients and paperwork to the point anything routine, including him, was invisible to them. He felt a little spurt of pleasure at the thought of the panic his act would cause. Then he continued with his duties. Now all he had to do was wait and watch.

The discovery came quicker than he had expected. Not ten minutes after he had slipped the bundle under the door their two male detective friends had come in. He wasn't sure what had happened in the room but as soon as they came out they were shouting orders and locked down the floor. The cart had already been stored and locked up in the custodial closet for a quick escape and he made it to the stairs before they fully locked down the floor.

Walker opened the door and walked out of the stairwell on the fourth floor. Then watched as LT accompanied the detective as she hobbled down the corridor to the elevators. The detectives upstairs had obviously contacted her. He had seen enough, he turned and walked towards the nearest exit. At the main entrance an officer checked his ID badge against a list of employees, and then checked the contents of his backpack, after a minute he was released to continue on his way.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When LT and Beckett arrived back on the floor with Castle's room, Ryan and Espo waited for her in the corridor. The door to Castle's room was closed and they told her he was still asleep inside.

"What the hell happened?" Beckett was definitely in detective mode.

"Gates sent us to get more information from you and Castle. The security detail was at the door when we got here. We opened the door and kicked the envelope as we entered. Picked it up and looked inside." He handed her gloves. "We were suspicious and Castle was asleep so we backed out of the room. Officer Brigham left Castle's door to go to the men's room. He said he didn't see anything. I'm going to have him replaced. I think he needs a review, this is inexcusable. If they could drop off an envelope, they could have just as easily killed Castle." He handed the envelope to Beckett.

Beckett turned to LT and said, "You're going to relieve that idiot and take his place until someone competent shows up? Right? Can you also check on Hunt in ICU, make sure nothing there is out of the ordinary?"

"You read my mind, Detective." LT agreed then headed off with the obvious focus to deal with Officer Brigham and check on Hunt."

Kate opened the envelope and slid the pictures out. She stumbled back thankful for the wall behind her. The first pictures in the pile showed Alexis entering her dorm at school. She gasped as she flipped through the rest. Martha at her acting school and then Alexis on the train!

"I have to talk to Gates and Shaw. This nut job has gotten too close. I want my badge and gun back, if not Javi I want you to bring me my back up. When Castle wakes up we need to update him right away. If he used the pump to medicate we won't get anything out of him for another couple of hours. Meanwhile, get Karpowski up here to grill the nurses. They had to have seen something. Pull all the security footage on this floor. Look for anything that freaking moves."

"Beckett, we need to know what you know about Alexis kidnapping." Espo asked.

"Not right now, Espo! There are two parts to this. Right now, staying alive is more important than finding out who is behind this. We need to find the psycho that's taunting us. Alive if possible."

"Beckett, this could possibly be connected. We traced the money trail for the men who held Castle back to a bank in Moscow." Ryan continued. "We remembered Castle saying something about the people who kidnapped Alexis being foreigners."

"Screw that! Where the hell is my phone, I need to get Shaw and some Federal Marshals up here to guard Castle."

Espo said, "Ryan, you update her, I'll get cracking on the immediate problem." He walked away poking at his phone.

Beckett stood there silent, still fuming that Castle had been left unguarded. She looked at Espo's back and said, "Thanks." He nodded his head clearly absorbed in what he was doing with his phone. She turned back and said, "Ryan, we're going to stand in front of Castle's door until LT gets back from dealing with Officer Brigham and checking in on Hunt."

Ryan nodded his acceptance and moved over to the door. Beckett, was clearly in pain the elevator dinged and LT walked off the elevator and in their direction. "Detective, Brigham is on administrative leave pending a review. He left his post against orders. It won't happen again. I have two officers on their way here. We will keep two officers outside the door at all times. I checked in ICU and nothing there is out of the ordinary."

Beckett said, "Thanks, LT. Please make sure that the same is done for Mr. Hunt." Her immediate concern satisfied, and confident that the appropriate actions were underway to increase security for her and Castle, she sat on the floor to take the weight off her leg. She had a second thought and said, "LT, we'll keep an eye on the hall, would you take a look around Castle's room and be sure there wasn't anything else left in there? If you see my phone please bring it out here?"

"Sure, I should have suggested that myself."

Beckett nodded her thanks to LT, sighed and massaged her leg for a few seconds. The pin helped, so did the inflatable cast, but it still hurt big time if she abused it, and between the therapy and hustling down here, it was telling her she needed to back off. Well, it could tell her what ever it wanted, but she'd do what she needed to do to keep Castle and their family alive. The leg could just deal with it.

Beckett turned to Ryan, "He didn't go into detail, but he did tell me that the man who abducted Alexis was a spy for the SVR. The French government wanted to avoid an international incident and kept it quiet. We have to wait until he wakes up to get the rest of the information. If this has to do with the SVR then we might look at Sophia Turner too. I'll explain what I can about her to you too, but it's classified information. I'm going to call Shaw and Gates now. If you boys are right this is bigger than we thought."

Beckett stood there silent. Castle had told her about Hunt and his involvement with Volkov who was part of the SVR the "new" Russian KGB. There had also been the incident with Sophia Turner. It made some sense That those two things could be connected. They would have to wait until Castle woke up to get accurate information.

****I'm hoping this story makes it to over 600 reviews and the 50k word minimum needed for the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon. It's starting to wrap up, but still has some life left in it yet. I promise to update at the very least once a week. This is the third time this week. I'm honored and shocked ********at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers, betas and fight scene coordinator because without you guys my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	20. Chapter 20

**Already at chapter 20! Thank you to everyone who has left a review I appreciate you taking out the time to do so. They mean a lot to me! Thank you to everyone who has helped with this story, your help, encouragement and suggestions have made it what it is. I'm so excited that we only have one more Castleless Monday! I'm nervous, excited and scared. After the season ending I want the fun and magic back, I do NOT want to be disappointed. I will have faith in the writers who have always managed to make me want to come back each week! This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon!**

It was like struggling to break the surface when your oxygen starved lungs screamed for air. He struggled to regain consciousness. Castle heard the incessant sound of the machines that monitored him, then the shuffling of many feet. Mumbled voices and whispered tones made his mind race with fear. The sound of the door as it clicked open and shut echoed in his head. Finally the strong odor of hospital infiltrated his perceptions just before his eyes finally blinked opened.

He scanned the room quickly. Other than Shaw and Avery the room was crowded with everyone he considered family. Gates, Shaw and Avery stood at the foot if his bed. Lanie, Esposito and Ryan sat to the right of him. The concerned looks on their faces startled him. His mother and Alexis to the left of him. Martha's arms wrapped securely around his daughter. Tears tracked down the soft slope of her cheeks. His heart skipped a beat.

Castle scanned the room again. "Where is she? Where's Kate?" He struggled to get up. Pain seared through his chest and he hissed. "Where's Kate!"

"Mr. Castle!" Gates loud voice startled him still. "Detective Beckett is right outside this door. She is calling her father with information he needs. You need to lie back down in that bed and relax. There are two armed Marshall's outside that door with her."

His heart pounded with fear, the new information about the armed Marshall's hadn't escaped him. "Dad, she's ok. Just calling her father." Alexis said as she eased him back into the pillows. "You need to calm down, Dad."

"What's going on? Why are you all here? Why do we have armed Marshall's now?"

"Castle, there has been an incident." Shaw offered. "When Beckett's finished her conversation with her father, we will discuss it."

The door opened and a disheveled Kate Beckett hobbled in making more use of her cane than she had the day before. Her natural beauty showed through the overlay of pain, stress, and uncertainty that clearly enveloped her every thought. Her apparent anguish washed over Castle's pain and for a moment was almost overwhelming. She had obviously been running her hand through her hair, a nervous habit when she struggled with a frustrating problem. Her eyeliner was almost gone, which meant she had cried at some point. Her bottom lip was swollen from her teeth biting into it. He doubted that she had slept much in the last few days.

"Hey, you're awake." For a moment a smile broke through the tension as she struggled to his bedside. Her leg obviously hurt as she sat back in the chair next to his bed.

"What's going on Kate?"

"Castle..." Kate looked over at Martha.

"Why don't we give Katherine and my son a few minutes. We'll be right outside." Martha announced as she shooed everyone out the door. "Katherine, will explain and then we'll come back in and figure this out. Plenty of people out there with us."

Castle's eyebrow shot up as he looked at them. "Thanks, Mother."

"Kate, I can see it in your face. What's going on?" He questioned as the door clicked behind Martha.

"Castle, stay calm, we have this, but I need to update you. While I was in therapy earlier today, someone managed to slip these under your door." Kate flipped through the pictures. "There are no prints on them, and we have Tory going over footage from the hospital cameras now."

"Kate when were these taken? These pictures are close, my God my mother is autographing a picture for whoever took these. They've followed Alexis at her dorm and on the train! They aren't safe." He grabbed a hold of her hand and let her see the raw desperation and helplessness in his eyes.

"Castle, they're here. They're safe. We have officers all over this floor as well as Hunt's floor. Shaw added Federal Marshals around the hospital, too. Five of us in this room are armed. Whoever this is knows our routines. The boys found the pictures when they came to ask us more questions. The officer outside your door had stepped away to use the men's room. He's currently on an unpaid leave pending a review. The boys traced the money deposited in your kidnappers accounts to a bank in Moscow. We need information about what happened when Alexis was abducted. I know you don't want to relive that time, but I think it might be connected. I think Sophia might be connected too. She was an ex SVR sleeper, deep cover operative. We need to tell them everything we both know."

"Send them back in, Kate. The French government be damned. My family will always come first."

She bent over and brushed her lips warmly against his. Her tongue traced his lips and her hand feathered across his cheek gently. "Castle, we'll get through this. We'll have our fairytale ending."

"I know. I'm just not comfortable with that psycho being so close. Let's bring them back in here, and get this guy." After one last kiss to his forehead, Kate hobbled to the door and motioned everyone back into the room. Her dad had just arrived, Castle watched as he gave her a quick, but careful hug.

"How are you doing, Katie?" She saw and felt his eyes probe hers for the truth as he passed by her into the room. "How's he doing?"

"As well as can be expected under the circumstances." The look her father gave her made her stomach churn. "Yes, there's more. Come on in, we are about to update everyone."

Shaw and Gates updated everyone on the money trail that lead to Moscow. The room remained silent. "Mr. Castle, Detective Beckett said that you may have information relevant to this case?"

Castle felt a surge of affection when Kate slipped her hand into his in a gesture of support.

Castle turned to Agent Shaw and said, "This will require me revealing classified information about a CIA Covert Officer that not everybody present has heard before. Is that okay?"

Shaw nodded her permission and he continued, "It started with CIA Covet Officer, Sophia Turner. Back then I thought it was sheer luck that got me access to a CIA agent. Now I know otherwise. Sophia Turner was the CIA agent that was the inspiration for Clara Strike in my Derrick Storm books. I shadowed her for a year. We had a relationship, but we went our separate ways. Captain Gates, do you remember the case where the scientist Nelson Blakely faked his death, and was then killed in our custody? Blakely had found a "Linchpin" that would end the world as we know it. Sophia Turner was the CIA agent in charge of that case. In the end it was Sophia who killed Blakely and attempted to murder a young Chinese girl, who was the Linchpin. Sophia had a gun to my head and revealed that she was a deep covert SVR spy. In the end she was killed by another CIA agent just before she intended to kill Kate and me - her finger was on the trigger."

"One thing she told us was that my father had paved the way for my access to the CIA. At the time I, we, had no idea who my father was. We were never able to find out if what she said was true. Earlier this year Alexis was kidnapped and taken to Paris. It was there that I was rescued by Jackson Hunt. Jackson Hunt is a CIA deep cover operative, and, as will become obvious, my father. Gregory Volkov, a Russian spy, had taken Alexis to flush out Hunt. He knew Hunt would not let his grand-daughter die without a fight. Years ago Hunt had captured Volkov and turned him over to authorities, in the struggle to capture him, Volkov's wife became a casualty, collateral damage. Volkov wanted revenge. Alexis was meant to draw Hunt out and then he would kill both of them. Hunt devised a plan to rescue Alexis."

Ryan's phone rang and he stepped out of the room to take the call.

Castle continued with his description of events, " I was purposely caught by Volkov's men while planting explosives. Hunt rigged the walkie talkie I was carrying with explosives. When Volkov took it from me and used it to threaten Hunt, Hunt remotely detonated it and killed Volkov and those near him. Alexis and I were able to escape and run to the French Embassy. I think we need to find where Gregory Volkov and Sophia Turner intersected. They must have something or someone in common."

The door opened and Ryan returned. "Castle, everybody, that was Tory. She got the footage from the hospital and has gone through it. The only person that approached your door in the few seconds Officer Bringham was in the men's room was the custodian. His name is Steven Carlton. Tory ran his name and this is his DMV picture." Ryan held out his phone so the others could see the picture. It showed a thin, late 20's, blonde hair, green eyed white man. "I told Tory the guy in the picture doesn't match description you gave of the custodian you and LT encountered at the elevator. You said he had olive skin tones, long black greasy hair and dark eyes. Both of you mentioned the nasty scar across his cheek. Tory is sending a sketch artist so you and LT can build us a picture of the man that was here."

Kate took the phone from Ryan and examined the picture Tory had sent. "That's definitely not the man we saw coming out of the elevator today. The guy we saw today has been working on this floor the entire time we've been here." Kate answered. "Find that janitors cart. As soon as you do, get CSU to process it for prints and start processing them through every database out there. As soon as the sketch artist is done with LT and I, we need everyone to have a copy of it. We need to find this guy!"

Shaw stepped up. "As of this moment you are all in federal custody. We need to move you all to a safe location away from the city. Right now you will all stay here. Where we have NYPD as well as Federal Marshall's and the FBI to protect you. Detective Ryan your wife and daughter are being escorted here as we speak. As soon as a safe house is procured we will move you there. We will find this guy and whoever is controlling his puppet strings. Mr. Castle and Mr. Hunt will remain here under the strictest surveillance."

The room exploded with loud objections.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The neon sign from the motel shined through the slats of the window blinds giving the room an eerie glow. Walker had walked in and removed his shirt. After he checked in he was going to change his shirt, treat himself to a big juicy steak and a beer somewhere, and if he was lucky he'd get a girl drunk enough to fuck her brains out, then dispose of her after her usefulness was exhausted. Or maybe, if there wasn't a lot of time, just watch her die. If he was honest with himself, watching the lights go out was the real pleasure. The only part of the sex he liked was how hard they always tried, how desperate they got when they thought it was going to save their lives. It never did. In the last moments they always asked their God to help. He never did. Then he'd watch the lights go out. There was that last moment when they realized it was really over. That look was the part he always remembered. He wanted that moment with the Detective in the worst way but wasn't sure he'd have time for it. In a couple of days he'd be on his way back to Moscow, and all this would be another memory to be replayed endless times for his pleasure.

The weapons he needed had been a cinch to find in Washington Heights. You could find anything there, you could buy souls if you had enough cash. He knew that because he'd done it. Under his bed sat a locked piece of luggage, he had filled it with everything he needed. Then he had snuck everything into the hospital and hidden it in a long forgotten storage room where he could easily access it and the service stairs to the floor where Castle and Beckett were waiting. He had his plan, his distractions, all ready and in place. Everything was exactly as he wanted it. Tomorrow he would walk in the front door of the hospital without a problem and then he'd complete his objective.

Walker sat at the worn desk his cell phone plastered to his ear. "It starts tomorrow. I have established myself as an employee, no one will suspect me. By the time they do I will be long gone. The fewer of them alive when this is over the better. I'll make sure Hunt and Castle watch their loved ones die. Thank you, I'll check my balance as soon as I get off the phone."

He hung up the phone and immediately dialed his bank's automated teller $250,000.00 had been deposited into his account this morning. Walker ended the call and walked over to the bed. He laid down and stared at the ceiling. Tomorrow, the next day at the latest, he'd get to torture their souls and squeeze the life out of them. He might even take a nibble or two of one of the females, but right now the night was young and he could feel the anticipation of another defining moment of personal pleasure building. The time was right for everything.

****I'm getting closer to the 50k words needed for the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon. It's starting to wrap up, Walker is one scary dude. I promise to update at the very least once a week. I'm honored and shocked ********at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers, betas and fight scene coordinator because without you guys my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	21. Chapter 21

**Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, favorited or followed this story. I read each and everyone, but trying to get to the 50k word count before the airing is crazy, especially since I will be away Monday through Friday of next week. I'll be writing, but we'll see if I can post. Not sure about the internet! I'm cutting it close, as it need 50k words my the season premier. This will also be my most reviewed story in 31 more reviews, whenever it happens I'm going to be psyched! Let me know if you guys are still enjoying this or I should just wrap it up soon! In a rush to post all mistakes are mine...my betas could use the break. My entry into the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon!**

The two women had been arguing for the last thirty minutes. They were alone in a nearby hospital conference room, but their muffled voices could be heard in the hall. The conversation was heated.

"You are to close to this, your objectivity is compromised!" Shaw's voice was strained as she tried to keep her voice down.

"I've been compromised from the beginning! You knew that! There's no way you are going to force me to leave here! I'm not going to the safe house, my place is here with Castle and you know that!" Beckett growled.

"Kate, you are under my protection, and I can't protect you if you stay here. Castle will have Federal Marshals, the NYPD and private security firm he has hired keeping him safe. We need to get everyone else somewhere safe and that includes you."

"I don't need protection and I don't give a damn about who is protecting him. They aren't me! This psycho has already gotten too close Already. I can't let that happen again." Kate limped the length of the conference room as she spoke. Her leg burned with pain, but she'd be damned if she showed Shaw any weakness.

"Kate we know what he looks like. Everyone has been updated. He won't be able to get near Castle." Shaw leaned over the conference table with both hands. Before her was the sketch the sketch artist had made from LT and her description. "Fine, but there is no debate on this Beckett. We are adding a member or two of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team to each shift as a precaution.

Beckett knows a concession when she hears it. She had won this battle.

Shaw knew when she was beaten from the get go. There was no legal way she could banish private citizen Kate from the hospital and Kate knew it. Shaw sighed and plopped herself down into one of the leather chairs. Going into this conversation she didn't think she had a chance in hell of getting Beckett to leave - the woman would take a bullet for Castle, hell, she had already taken two.

"What are you carrying?" Shaw asked. She wanted to make sure she was adequately armed. "We will also give you a burner phone you can use to contact me and you friends and family in an emergency. The hospital is really upset about all the armed people. They've cleared the end of one floor, it's a wing that was scheduled to be cleared for remodeling and rehab next month anyway. They have recruited, at government expense, a team of hospitalists, doctors, crash cart and an ICU nurse for Castle and Hunt. They have put an extra trauma surgeon on duty in the ER as well as two more on call. Castle and Hunt will be moved later today. It will be easier to protect them if there aren't any other patients in the way."

"I have my service weapon, a Glock 19 with two extra magazines and my Glock 26 back up in an ankle holster.

"Doesn't that ankle holster hurt?

"I was shot in my right leg, the holster is on my left. You know ankle holsters are on the opposite side."

"Your twenty six can use the magazines from your nineteen. That's plenty. What rating vest are you wearing?"

"Condor Level III-A with carbon Nano tubes front, rear, and both sides."

"I didn't know NYPD issued those. They are great."

"They don't. Castle bought it for me."

"I should have known."

"Jordan, I'll update Castle on everything you've told me. Thank you, I won't make you regret it."

"Believe me I already do." Shaw said over her shoulder as she lead them out of the room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Volkov was no fool. Walker was a gun for hire, his allegiance was only to himself. He knew what had to be done, but he didn't understand the importance of it, for him it was just the money. So, Volkov had taken the first flight out of Moscow heading to New York. With any luck he'd be there to witness the mayhem and confirm the destruction of Hunt's family. He wanted to make sure the man who had caused him so much pain, lost everything before he lost his own life. Then he would secretly meet with Walker and make sure any connection to him was taken care of. No one would miss the assassin and then he could return to Russia and continue on with his life.

He had called his connections in New York. Everything he'd need would be ready and waiting for him. He had a nice hotel in mid-town and the needed guns and ammunition ready and waiting. He really only needed one gun, but he was trained to have a back-up, and he felt uneasy without it. A driver would be waiting for him at the airport. If he was lucky, he would be back on a plane less than a 72 hours from now.

Walker had no idea he was in New York and that's exactly how he wanted it. Their next call was scheduled for right after everything was taken care of. He already had someone watching Walker. Walker would never know what hit him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Five different cars left the hospital that evening. Each car headed for a different municipal airport. The occupants oblivious to their final destination. Espo, Lanie, Ryan, Jenny and Sarah Grace left in a dark blue crossover. Alexis, Martha and Jim Beckett in a Toyota sedan and Gates, her husband and Shaw drove away in a brown Wagoneer. The two other cars were decoys with agents that looked and dressed similarly to some of the people in each of the other cars. Planes were chartered and fake flight plans had been filed.

They would be in the air for about an hour before they would land at separate municipal airports outside of Syracuse, New York. Syracuse had quite a few advantages. The population made it easier for them to hide. People in cities moved more often. The agency had a never before procured a Federal Marshal Service Safe House big enough to house all the people they needed to protect this time. Each group would arrive at different times safe house just outside Syracuse. Alexis, Martha and Jim arrived first and were already anxious to call the hospital and make sure Castle and Beckett were safe. They were told they would be given time to do so once everyone had arrived, but they had to do it on an internet phone setup that would be routed all over the world before it connected to the hospital, for now. They had already surrendered their cell phones as a condition precedent to the Marshal's service providing protection. None of them were allowed access to the internet for any reason. Books, each other, and television were their sources of amusement.

****I'm honored and shocked ********at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers, betas and fight scene coordinator because without you guys my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	22. Chapter 22

**A huge thank you to fbob who I credit for making this chapter what it is. I can't thank him enough for the guidance, writing suggestions and plot devices, not to mention writing the best gore and fight/shooting sequences around. To my other fine betas, I thank you for finding both our mistakes. This story is my baby. I don't think I've ever worked so hard at researching and writing something, but without those who stand behind me, it wouldn't be half as good!**

**That being said I'm changing the rating to "M" for this chapter and next for violence. We are quickly approaching the 50k words, and this chapter might just make this story my most reviewed story ever! This is my entry in the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon.**

It was a rough ride in the back of the maintenance supplies truck, but Walker didn't mind. He was secretly pleased that he'd been in time to sneak into the truck. He'd fought off panic when he saw the extra guards outside the hospital. He'd used the excuse of having left his sweatshirt in his locker to do a quick check of the area. Then, when the idea of riding the supply truck hit him, he'd actually laughed out loud. The unexpected bonus was it gave him a chance to smuggle in a second duffel full of weapons. The increase in security suggested the need for a diversion so he'd added two homemade bombs, each with a pound of C4, configured with a cell phone for triggering. The cell phones were off. He'd verified the batteries were fully charged.

He had smuggled two timers into the country in case he had to send in a stooge with an explosive vest, but he hadn't. Timers were easy enough to find at Radio Shack and hobby stores. He can't believe they thought a few extra guards would stop him. Ha! Nothing could stop him. Not after last night. He was invincible. The real invincible. They couldn't stop him, ever!

He lost himself as he relived the pleasures of killing the girl. The look on her face, mouth duct taped shut, tendons corded in her neck, eyes bugged out in terror, nostrils flared and snorted mucous as he had slowly slid the knife up under her ribs and into her heart. He'd tried to get her to tell him what death felt like but then she looked at him, eyes wide open, and he saw true terror just before she died. The pleasure of the memory, the death rattle, reflexive appendage movements, her body purging itself, was more intense than the climax of any sex act he'd ever experienced. The memory of it left him so distracted and limp he almost missed the fact that the back of the truck had been opened for inspection.

Startled back into the present, his adrenaline surged along with his heart rate. He peeked between two boxes and was startled to see one of the hospital security staff looking in the back of the truck. He smiled to himself when he saw who it was, O'Brian. He'd banked on O'Brian being on shift. The morbidly obese rent-a-cop didn't climb into the back of the truck to take a closer look. The old man would have been easy, but the young driver and the forewarned dock crew, if they were still there, would have messed up his plans. None of that happened. You get what you pay for capitalist idiots.

He knew the drill. They would back up to the loading dock. The first couple of pallets, all cleaning solvents, would be taken off with the fork lift. They'd take it to maintenance supplies. The round trip would take all of three minutes. Plenty of time to get out of the truck and hide behind the supplies that were delivered yesterday.

His phone vibrated. He reached in his pocket and muted it with out looking. It could only be Volkov checking in to see how it was going. He couldn't risk taking the call. Besides, he wanted to be able to gloat about being inside even with the additional security. Maybe Volkov knows about the additional security. Maybe he was calling to warn him? He'd show him. He'd call back from inside. He was invincible.

The forklift operator, a young man named Oliver he'd talked with in the cafeteria swooped the forklift into the truck, slid the forks into the pallet, backed out, and spun it without even causing the pallet to waver. He then moved off toward the storage area. The moment the forklift accelerated away, Walker shouldered his duffel, quickly checked the dock area, and spotted the driver. He was standing about ten feet to the left side of the truck totally absorbed in his phone. What the hell was he doing there? The driver always waited in the truck. Don't get into useless loops, Walker he mumbled to himself. It didn't matter why he was there. All that mattered was what he'd do about it.

If he exited the left side of the truck and moved behind the stacks of drywall, the driver would never see him. This was the last truck of the day, Oliver would leave after the truck was unloaded and then he'd be free to take the side exit down into the utility tunnels.

By the time the forklift left with the second man, Walker had his suppressed pistol in hand. He peeked his head around the end of the truck, saw the driver still absorbed in his phone, and moved on soft rubber soled boots to the opposite side of the truck. He moved the fifteen feet to behind the drywall pallets without anyone ever noticing. Then he snuck past the first pallet and hid behind the second. He laid on the floor and fought off the urge to sneeze. Dust. Why was there always dust? He pinched his nose shut and hoped the sound of the approaching forklift covered the attempted sneeze that felt like it would blow his eyeballs right out of his head. Right in the middle of the third sneeze attempt his phone started vibrating again. Crap. He reached in his pocket to decline the call. Can't talk now Mister Volkov. I'm too busy doing your bidding, for my profit and pleasure, he thought. Walker listened for a moment, he confirmed the sounds of the driver as he got into the supply truck and closed the door. For a minute the two young men commiserated together about life in general, then the truck drove away. Oliver drove inside the dock, parked the forklift and closed the big roll down doors with Walker on the inside.

Walker picked his head up when the lights went off and the door closed as Oliver headed into the hallway, probably on his way home.

He walked to one of the shelves near the oxygen bottle rack, and carefully placed one of his cell phone detonated bombs there. He felt it would make an excellent distraction should he need it. He checked the battery on the phone, verified that it had a good signal, and left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kate was exhausted and in pain. Getting Castle's family out of the hospital to their safe house and getting herself, Castle, and Hunt moved to the new wing had worn her out. Her leg and the wound in her side throbbed. She had taken two of the non-prescription pain pills and was afraid to ask the doctor for more because he might put her back in bed. Her arrangement with the hospital had her on site with phone consultation with her family doctor for prescriptions. They made it clear she was not a hospital patient. That said, the physician assigned to Castle and Hunt, told her he had a private practice and would be happy to take care of what she needed.

She saw Castle looking at her. His concern written clearly across his face. "Kate, are you okay? Your white as a sheet, your face is all drawn and you look just plain stressed."

"I'm fine. I just need to take the load off this leg of mine and give it a chance to stop throbbing. How about a movie marathon, well, at least one movie, to take our minds off this mess?"

"Alexis brought us the Bourne Trilogy. How about that?"

"Too much like real life at the moment." She hobbled over to the DVD pile, ran her finger down the pile and added, "But if you want a thriller, how about The Hunt For Red October?"

"I love that movie. I loved the book too. Clancy has a way with the details that really give the story credibility. It was so well done I wondered if it was real."

Kate slid the selected DVD case out of the pile, she had to move quickly to keep the pile from falling on the floor and made a sharp noise when the stress on her leg shot pain all the way to her eyeballs.

"Kate. Seriously, are you okay?"

"I have to be. But between this thirty pound vest, the gun and that quick weight shift, I'm not real comfortable."

"Trying for the understatement of the century?"

She smiled at his coping humor and said, "Millennium."

She moved with care to the small TV that had a built in DVD player and started it. She wanted nothing more than to climb into his bed and melt into him, but that wasn't happening any time soon.

"How about you take that vest off? Shaw has SWAT, a couple of the HRT guys and four or five federal marshals on protection detail, not counting the uniforms Gates has assigned to the first floor. I'm not wearing a vest."

"That's true, but we have that extra one of yours on the floor that I can put over you if I have to."

"Kate, we both know that's more feel good than protection. Take that thing off and get comfortable. Having it rub on you can't be helping the wound in your side heal."

"It rubbed the bandage against the wound and pulled the scab off it so it keeps bleeding."

He was right, if there was a disturbance She could put it back on and throw that other one over Castle. On the small screen the submarine was still leaving the channel when she shrugged off the vest, laid her gun on the bed between herself and Castle, moved the chair over and sat down. She sighed with relief when the pain in her leg decreased from agony to only painful.

She settled in the chair between Castle and the door, reached to hold his hand and said, "You're right. This feels a lot better."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walker waited a full minute to be sure Oliver had gone, then brushed himself off, picked up his duffel and walked rapidly to the door that went down the ramp into the maintenance tunnels. This place was built over a period of three decades. It was a maze both down here and on the first floor. The journey from the women's center to the cafeteria caused visitors to get lost all the time. These tunnels were even worse. They traversed everywhere under the complex. The cool thing was that the freight elevators in each major wing came down here. Well, it wasn't the elevator that was cool, it was the fact that there was a ladder up the shafts with a personnel door on each level. He had no idea why, but that was the case. None of the security folks seemed to think about it. They never talked about it. It attracted less attention than landing Spetsnaz on the roof with a Mil-17 helicopter. This hospital didn't have a helipad on the roof. It was in the parking lot. A chopper would probably collapse the roof.

He reached into his pocket, pulled out the map he'd scratched together during his off duty time. He followed it past the wing that was to be remodeled to the freight elevator shaft that would let him go up one floor to the stair well. To save energy, the lights in the stairwell were on motion sensors. He knew where to turn off the power to the lights in the basement tunnel before he climbed up into the stairwell. Nobody would think it strange that the stairwell was dark. The chance of him being surprised by someone coming into the stairwell and discovering him, was low. If they did come in and the lights didn't work, they'd just shake their heads and mutter about how they were broken, again. The stairs had apparently been installed to meet the requirement for two ways out of each wing in an emergency. They were on the wrong end of the wing. The elevators and front stairwells were much easier to access. The idiots had built the perfect assault infiltration route into the building.

He was just about to climb the ladder up to enter the stairwell when his phone vibrated again. "Volkov, this isn't a good time, I'm inside the hospital making my approach." He hissed angrily into the phone.

"What is the matter with you? You have put the whole mission at risk."

"What? I'm inside undetected."

"You aren't undetected outside. You have the whole NYPD, FBI, and a special serial killer task force from the FBI after you. They found that girl you killed last night and from the news reports, the FBI has determined they have an active serial killer. That was your third victim in the area. You couldn't wait until after you had completed the mission to take your pleasure?"

"They'll never find me. I didn't-"

"You idiot, you left a print on the glass in the bar. They have a match, through Interpol, to a print from a similar crime in France. You were hired to kill Castle, Beckett and Hunt. Not to use them for your sick pleasure. You have put the mission, and me, at risk. At this point, you either succeed by sunrise, or I'll hire a girl to kill you just like you killed the one last night. You understand me? At this point, you are the walking dead. If Beckett, Castle or Hunt are still breathing at sunrise, I will have you hunted down and killed."

Walker felt a surge of fear, not for being caught, but that Volkov would kill him even if he succeeded. At that moment he decided he'd surrender after he had the pleasure of killing them. The Americans were such misguided fools, they'd take the death penalty off the table in return for information on Volkov leaving him the rest of his life to relive his pleasures in his head. You're the dead man Volkov, not me! He thought to himself. It was at that moment he noticed that there was no delay in this conversation. Volkov was here! In the US.

"How do you know that? How could you possibly know that?" He asked his boss.

"It's on the news you fool."

Walker decided not to let Volkov know he knew where he was. So instead, he said, "You have nothing to worry about. I have a plan to take them all out."

He waited for a reply then looked at his phone and saw the call had been ended. He shook his head and headed up the stairs. A floor later the bounce had returned to his step and he reassured himself about his chances for success. He was, after all, invincible.

He paused at the door into the hallway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FBI Agent Jordan Shaw found the Federal Marshal in charge of their guard force on the premises. "Marshal Douglas, did the frequency cross reference make it possible for you to communicate with the NYPD and FBI?"

"It worked for you and I on the command channel, but the NYPD doesn't have that frequency or any of the others. I gave one of our sets to Sargeant Waller who's in charge of their security detail. Because of that, I decided that all the people on the floor would be Federal Marshals. I have one in the tunnels under the buildings. He has one of the hospital security guys with him that has a map of the tunnels. My guy said those tunnels are a maze. They have loops in them so there is more than one way to get from A to B."

"Is access limited?"

"The main entrance is through the loading dock down a ramp. They apparently decided they might want to be able to take a cart down that ramp with materials on it. But they didn't make that original access big enough for a forklift. There are other parts that are. From the cell phone pictures I have it would be a death trap in a fire fight. There is no place to hide."

"Are there any other entrances or exits?"

"None from outside."

"From inside?"

"Yes, all the stairwells next to the service elevators for the various patient wings have a door on the first floor that one can open and descend into the tunnels down a ladder."

"You're telling me we are vulnerable to assault through those tunnels in the old wing where we moved Becket and Castle?"

"Yes. That's why I put a man down there with someone that knows the tunnel system a couple of minutes ago."

"The way you describe the tunnels it would be easy to evade your patrol. They are probably bored and talking to each other. If there are alternate routes … I think I need to check the access from the loading dock."

"My guy was there not too long ago. They had only one truck expected. It ran late. I made sure the hospital had one of their security guys there. It was supposed to arrive not long after we checked and it did. I checked with the area supervisor. He said there was no incident or unusual activity, it was the normal driver. The forklift operator has been here for three years. The hospital security guy didn't report anything out of the ordinary."

Shaw was uneasy about the tunnels as a vulnerability but couldn't find fault with the precautions Marshal Douglas had taken, so she said, "Okay. It sounds like you have it covered."

****I'm honored and shocked ********at the reception this story has gotten! Thank you to my helpers, betas and fight scene coordinator because without you guys my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	23. Chapter 23

**The tensions mounting! Thank you to all of you who have stuck with me through the craziness of this story. I don't know how other author's here can bang out great stories in short periods of time? Thank you for you reviews, tweets and pm's, I am extremely grateful for them. Thank you to all of you who help. This should take this story over the 50k mark, and there is still more to tell. ****So come along for the ride and please hang on tightly it's going to be a bumpy ride! This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon. Let me know what you think. Thank you!**

A Code Call through the PA system meant someone was in trouble on their floor, probably cardiac arrest. It was a complication he didn't need. Then he realized the room number was on the far end of the wing. Castle's room was between them and him, the custodial closet in the quiet opposite end of the floor. He smiled, they would never notice him with all that crap going on. Prepare to die Detective, you too Castle.

He had to make it across the hall and into the custodial closet to get to his cart. When he opened the door into the stairwell he took a quick look toward the far end of the hallway, it was deserted. He moved down the hall, unlocked the storage closet and stepped inside. A set of scrubs was there waiting for him. He slipped them on, retrieved his duffel from the stairwell, slid his suppressed pistol and a knife into the belly band holster specially modified to permit the suppressor to extend down into the pants leg. It wouldn't show if he didn't bend over or take too long a stride. He had experimented with it and some of the other concealment items that were easily bought in this country. They even sold Men's Executive Concealment Briefs. Underwear that held a Glock. It wasn't his first choice, but this belly band worked great.

He placed the stethoscope around his neck, picked up the Registered Nurse ID badge he had a cobbler make based on one he had previously stolen. Hi there, Nurse Osbourne, he thought to himself. You have patients that need euthanizing. He failed to suppress the burst of pleasure he felt when he thought, about it. Best to just get with it. He needed the professional persona until the final moment. He knew he had to get them all to have any kind of leverage or bargaining chip with Volkov.

He checked the hallway, stepped toward the nearest nurse supply cart and looked into the room to see if the Nurse was likely to come back out. He saw the room was empty except for a sleeping patient and one nurse, she turned around and looked surprised to see him. He quickly reacted and charged at her. Panic spread across her face And she froze. She tried to scream but never got the chance, as he swept her hands aside, turned her roughly around and broke her neck all in one motion. Walker looked over her shoulder at the wide eyed patient and the beeping monitors. The patient's eyes widened, he wasn't connected to the vitals monitoring system, so it was safe to kill him and no one would notice for a while. His death certificate would state strangulation, but a crushed larynx with little struggle is what he would remember. At least he got to see his eyes in that last moment. Life is good. Death is better.

The other bed was empty. Walker dragged the nurse into the bathroom and dropped her body into the shower. She left a trail of urine on the floor but nothing else. He returned, ripped the tubes out of the arms of the patient, wrapped him in a blanket to contain the mess and dumped him into the shower as well.

He returned, looked at the room, grabbed the IV towers and other loose stuff, put it in the bathroom and shut the door. He pulled the privacy curtain, grabbed the patient's chart and put it in the stairwell.

All this had slowed him down considerably. A quick glance showed the confusion at the end of the hall was still in full swing. He straightened his scrubs, rechecked that the pistol and knife were still secure, and returned to the cart. There was only one person at the nurses station, the rest were apparently down the hall where the red light was still flashing.

He forced himself to relax. He'd been able to get immense pleasure out of watching the patient slowly die, but the nurse had been facing away from him, he hadn't gotten the pleasure of watching the lights go out. He shrugged his shoulders, put a pleasant but pre-occupied expression on his face and pushed the cart toward the door to Castle's room.

He rehearsed what he would say to the guard. Stopped, pulled the pistol out and stuck it in a bag on the side of the cart where he could have his hand on it when he rounded the corner. The adrenaline rushed through his system he anticipated killing the guard before entering the room, but when he turned the corner he stopped cold. There was no guard. The door was open, and the room was empty. They … were gone.

Walker fought down a sense of panic. He struggled with the racing kaleidoscope of impossibilities that assailed him. Were they moved to a safe house or a different hospital? His mind rushed with scenarios that left him dead. Then the voices of two nurses filtrated his thoughts and became understandable.

"That was a close one. That Dr. Bach is a bloody genius with that crash cart. She always knows what to do."

"Yeah, that's the most excitement we've had since they moved that Detective and Writer to the empty wing. Bet that's going to screw up the rehab schedule. I heard that was supposed to start in two days."

"About time. That was the oldest wing in the whole facility. Sometimes the lights don't even work."

"I used to dread shifts there. We had to use all bottled oxygen because the lines couldn't be trusted."

"And all those heavy electrical boxes, my boyfriend said they were isolation transformers, made so that the outlets met the required specifications."

Walker remembered that the 'A' wing was on the fourth floor of the original hospital building. It used to be general patient care. He wondered why they were moved there? Never mind, he'd go scout it now before they discovered the two bodies at the end of this hall and lock the place down. Damn, he needed to hurry.

A quick glance showed him he was still out of sight, he stuffed the pistol back into his holster, shoved the cart into the room and took off down the hall toward the stairs he'd used to get there. He made it without raising an alarm. At the last second he ducked into the store room, took two minutes to pack his duffel, picked it up, checked that no one was looking his way and ducked across the hall into the stair well.

He was almost down the stairs when he smelled cigarette smoke. What? There was no smoking in the hospital. He had been told smokers had to cross the street to smoke even in the winter. It was part of the work regulations. It must be Nurse Kiley. He had been busted for smoking in the stairwell more than once.

Apparently the smoker heard a door shut on the next floor and figured security was coming after him so he bolted. Walker made it to the door and was surprised to see lipstick on the still smoldering cigarette filter. He ignored it, unlocked and stepped through the door into the service elevator shaft and descended into the utility tunnels. As he ran through the tunnels he split his attention between avoiding getting lost and what he might find when he got to the wing that was going to be rehabilitated. He remembered, the freight elevator was been turned off. Everybody was pissed because they had to haul supplies up at night on the patient elevators. Crap! They had moved them because of the pictures he had left, by now they had probably doubled or tripled the guards. Not daring to take the stairway he would climb the elevator shaft ladder to the top, from there he scramble onto the roof.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Melanie Rose, RN, scanned the patient charts and noted the open one. She'd sent Kiley, the new phlebotomist who looked promising, to take the blood sample per Mr. Loden's open chart almost a half hour ago. The coding of the patient in 1W had sucked up all her attention, but with that behind them, and the patient alive, thank you very much, she had time to catch up. She glanced down the hall and didn't see the cart, so she decided Kiley must have finished and with the confusion down the hall had forgotten to enter it in the Computer system. She looked around, didn't see anyone she wanted to disturb and thought, I could use the walk. Short as it was, it would help work off some of the after effects of keeping that victim alive.

She strode rapidly down the hall toward 17W, even the first few strides felt good, and passed 6W, the room that the famous writer and his feisty Detective occupied until yesterday. The admittance list said they had a patient in ER that would be coming up for overnight monitoring. That's when she spotted Kiley's cart.

She spun around and took off down the hall toward 17W as fast as she could walk. A few second later she arrived at the room and stopped abruptly. Mr. Loden wasn't there. His bed was a mess, the IV bottle was on the floor. There was tubing sticking out under the bathroom door. She opened the bathroom door and staggered with the impact of what she saw.

Ten years of nursing, and this wasn't the first body she'd discovered, but these were the first two murder victims she'd ever seen. Her training suddenly took over. She leaned forward and checked for a pulse. Neither Kiley or Mr. Loden had one. As she backed away through the door, she spotted the room phone and quickly dialed the code for hospital security.

When the phone was answered she heard a young voice say, "This is Officer Kelly, hospital security."

"This is Nurse Rose. I'm in room four-seventeen W. I just discovered two bodies in the bathroom. One is a patient, one is our phlebotomist. I think they were murdered."

"You what?"

"Call nine one one. We have two bodies up here."

"Where?"

"Room four-seventeen W."

"How do you know they are bodies?"

"Because they are lying on the bathroom floor in a pool of blood, not breathing and without a pulse. Damnit, stop it with the stupid questions and call nine-one-one."

"I have to alert the supervisor. I'm not authorized to call the police."

She hung up, pulled out her cell phone and called nine-one-one herself.

"Nine-one-one. What's your emergency?"

"This is Nurse Rose, I'm the floor supervisor at Stony Brook University Trauma Center, I've just discovered two dead bodies in room four-seventeen W."

"Please stay on the line. We have a Red Flag on that hospital." A few seconds, which seemed like hours to her, later she heard, "My supervisor is on the phone to the FBI Agent in charge of the security detail there. Please stay on the line with me. Can you see the hallway? Is it clear?"

"Yes … there's nobody near me. There are people at the nursing station in the middle of the wing."

"Hold on." She heard voices in the background but couldn't understand them. Then, "A Federal Marshal should be there in less than a minute."

She saw the Marshall enter the corridor beyond the nursing station and head toward her at a dead run. He narrowly missed a nurse with a tray full of meds but didn't slow down. She knew when he saw her because his eyes got focused and his hand reached for his holster. She reacted like the cops she'd met had told her to, when she worked the ER. She dropped her phone and held her hands up empty palms forward.

Apparently he had time to take in her uniform and empty hands because by the time he slowed to stop he said, "Sorry. Where are they?"

"Bathroom."

He pushed by her, stopped cold in the bathroom door, pulled at the microphone on his chest and said, "Agent Shaw, we have two dead bodies in the room closest to the freight elevator stairway. They are in..." He looked at her.

She said, "Four-seventeen W."

He repeated, "Four-seventeen W."

"I'm locking down the hospital. How were the bodies discovered?"

Nurse Rose said, "Nurse Kiley's cart was in the room that Mr. Castle and Detective Beckett were in yesterday."

The marshal repeated the information to Agent Shaw.

"Send your team to Castle's floor now. Station them just outside the wing entrances. Put one of them on the roof. It's possible he'll come down from above. I'll get the NYPD on the first floor to close the doors. I don't want this guy to get to Castle and I don't want him to escape."

"How would he get up there. Wouldn't it be easier just to stop at this floor?"

"If he's as athletic as I think he is, he could climb the elevator shaft. The building blue prints indicate that it goes all the way to the cable hoist mechanism at roof level. He could come down from there and surprise our guy in the stairwell."

"Ok, Got it."

"Ten-Four. All available Marshal's to Castle's floor." Shaw said into her walkie talkie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walker needed a distraction. Something that would pull their guards away from the area and move them to a different threat. He stopped dead in his tracks. He pulled out the tunnel map he'd sketched based on the blueprints he'd found in the maintenance office one night. He could use the cell phone bomb he had hidden, or rig a timed explosion, or a triggered one? He quickly checked his phone. Nope, timed was out of the question, there wasn't any cell signal down here. He could rig an explosion in the passenger elevator shafts that fed the wing where they used to be. That would work. They'd think he was attacking that wing and rush to defend it. There were no guards there that he saw. This assignment had become a matter of life and death for him. Volkov would kill him.

He turned around and stopped when he heard distant voices. The cops were patrolling the tunnels. He needed to get to the roof. The plan for the new bomb went out of his head. He'd use the one he'd left in the loading dock area. Walker turned and moved as swiftly as he could toward the disabled service elevator shaft that would take him closer to where Castle and Beckett were located. Hopefully Hunt would be there too.

He looked around the corner and saw the door to the shaft was closed. That was normal and no guard, either. As fast as he could he moved to the shaft, picked the lock on the door, entered and locked it behind him. The elevator was on the first floor as expected. He moved over to the ladder and froze for a moment. The elevator in this shaft didn't have the back guard to prevent falls. It was a four story climb. So he'd better not fall. Walker grabbed the first rung and began to climb. He didn't look down, he just needed to make it up there. They would never expect him to come down from the roof, they'd expect him to come up from below. He felt invincible! They moved them but he knew where they were. Besides, he thought of the end game. A life time reliving all those moments, including his moment of triumph, as he watched The sexy detective die.

Filled with renewed resolve and confidence, his adrenaline still running high, he started to climb. He established a rhythm that never had less than three points of contact with the ladder. And before he realized it his head poked through the trap door into the main hoist compartment at the top of the shaft. He wouldn't fit with the duffel over his shoulder and it took him a couple of minutes of perilous maneuvers, including one almost fatal slip, to get it up through the trap door and onto the grate above. Then he followed it. He hadn't realized how tricky that would be and lay down to catch his breath and collect his thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shaw thought for a moment, decided she didn't want to alert Beckett yet, so she called the lead Marshal on the floor, "Marshal Mason, we've discovered dead bodies on the floor where you were yesterday. There is at least some chance they are related to the presence of Mr. Castle and Detective Beckett. I need you to do a walk around. I've asked that all the Marshal's not on the first floor meet with you. We need to totally lock that floor down but I want you to keep your men at the wing entrances. We need to stop him before he gets in."

"Roger that. I'll call if anything is out of the ordinary."

Shaw thought for a few seconds, then called Captain Gates.

"Captain Gates." She answered the phone.

"We've discovered two bodies on the floor where Castle and Beckett were yesterday. I need you to have your people lock the building down and set up check point. Nobody in or out. I think the assassin is in the hospital, but I don't think he knows where Castle and Beckett are because he didn't go there."

"Can you hold for a few seconds?"

"Yes."

Shaw heard muffled voices then Gates said, "Done. Have you told Beckett?"

"No. She looked like she'd been run over by a truck when we finally got them moved. I think they are safe. I have five Federal Marshals on that floor, people in the tunnels and your people around the building. She's in Castle's room, armed to the teeth wearing an assault vest. I wouldn't go in there without calling her first. She's on edge enough and on top of which she's recovering from two bullet wounds."

"I hope you're right because if that assassin gets in that room there will be hell to pay, and I don't mean then, I meant afterword's."

"If anything else happens, we get any clue he's still in the building, I'll tell her."

"When were the people on the other floor killed?"

"About forty minutes ago, as an estimate but it could be as much as an hour ago. They had a crash cart episode up there that had everybody's attention for at least half an hour. It was discovered after that."

"How did they discover it?"

"The dead technician's cart was found in Castle's old room by the floor nurse. She sprinted down the hall and found the technician and the patient she was to draw blood from both dead in the bathroom."

"So the killer managed to disguise himself as a hospital employee, kill the tech and patient, use the cart as cover, move undetected down the hall and then leave when he discovered Castle wasn't there?"

"Yes."

"It's your responsibility, but if it were me, and I didn't locate the killer in the next fifteen minutes, I'd tell Detective Beckett and put a Marshal in the room with her and "I agree."

"Keep me posted."

"I will. Gotta go." Shaw ended the call.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Vladimir Volkov sat at the desk in his posh uptown hotel. He had ordered room service and was nursing an exceptional glass of vodka. In his hand he held a picture of himself with his younger brother and wife at their wedding. He missed them greatly. Soon their deaths would be avenged and they could all rest easily. He flipped through a file, inside were pictures of Sophia Turner. She had been one of his best agents, and quite good in his bed. Yes, he would spend as little time as possible in this country. He hated everything about America and after the next two days he hoped to never step foot here again.

****Thanks again to my helpers, betas and fight scene coordinator because without you guys my ADHD mind would drive all you readers away! They rock! Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	24. Chapter 24

**A huge thank you to fbob again for his contribution to this chapter! This chapter is rated M for violence. I want to remind everyone that I am a Caskett shipper and my stories will always reflect that. Just a heads up! Today's the day, I hope this makes the day pass quicker. Reviews would make my day. This is my entry into the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon. I made the 50k words!**

Walker sat up, grabbed his duffle bag and carefully made his way around the elevator machinery to the door that led out to the roof. He was about to open it when he heard the unmistakable sound of feet climbing stairs. The stairwell was to his right and so was a door. He quickly pulled out his pistol and nearly dropped it when the suppressor hung up on the belly band holster. It was well in hand when the officer opened the door and froze at the unexpected sight of him. Walker put a shot in the officer's forehead and he dropped.

A quick appraisal showed he was close enough to Walker's size that while the uniform would be slightly loose, especially in the waist, it would pass the casual observation. The tactical vest and all the other equipment on the officer's gear belt would hide the loose fit.

Ten minutes later, the officer lay clad in his underwear on the steel grate, his blood dripping down the elevator shaft. Walker had donned his uniform and boots, though the boots were a full size too big so he hoped he wouldn't have to run very far.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The final scene of The Hunt For Red October played out with Sean Connery and Alec Baldwin on the conning tower of the surrendered Russian submarine in some river on the East coast. Castle sighed and Beckett knew he'd missed a good third of the movie. She'd missed a little as well. They both needed the rest with the stress of the last 24 hours.

"Castle, I'm going to take a quick shower, wash my hair and get cleaned up. I feel gross. You'll be okay for a few minutes?" He grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at her in his usual naughty boy manner. When she flashed him a smile he waved her off.

"I'm fine. We have a guard outside the door, a small army of Federal Marshals and NYPD guarding us. Go for it. Then maybe we can convince somebody to go get us some burgers and shakes or something. I'm getting really tired of the substances this hospital claims as food."

"I think I can make that happen." She stood up, gave his hand a squeeze, and recovered the DVD from the player. By the time she had it in the case, he'd fallen asleep. She smiled at him, swiped the hair from his eyes and brushed a light kiss across his brow. Then picked up her travel bag, hesitated a moment and decided to take off the heavy vest, gear belt, and her boots. She almost left her gun in the holster but at the last moment picked it up and took it in the bathroom with her. Not because she thought she'd need it, but because she didn't want to leave a loaded gun lying around where someone could pick it up. Hospital staff weren't tactically trained. There was too much chance of someone getting hurt or killed.

She closed the bathroom door behind her, found a place on the towel rack to lay the gun, then she turned back and locked the door for the same reason. It was a loaded and it couldn't go into the shower with her.

A few minutes later when the water temperature stabilized, she hobbled carefully into the shower glad for the handicapped access grab bars. The shower floor was not exactly slippery but it wasn't non-skid either. The rubber mat helped but it didn't come close to covering the entire shower floor. It didn't matter. Having that inflatable cast off for even a few minutes combined with the hot shower and she thought she knew what heaven felt like.

She indulged herself in the heat of the shower for a couple of minutes, then shampooed her hair, rinsed it and put on the conditioner. The plan was to let it sit for the specified five minutes while she used the loofah and body wash.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Walker made it down the steps to the main corridor. He double checked that he had indeed put a fresh magazine in his gun. He had. He was sure he had outsmarted the FEDS and NYPD. They had no clue how close he was and what he was capable of. They had underestimated him.

He wasn't sure which room Castle and Beckett were in but he thought it would probably be near the nurses' station. He was pretty sure they, and maybe Hunt as a long shot, were the only people on this floor. His plan was dirt simple. Trigger the bomb he had left near the oxygen tanks. Give the powers that be sixty seconds to respond by pulling people to cover the passages on the way to this hall. Then check, if the hall was clear, move rapidly toward the other end with his suppressed pistol. Take out the guard at the first guarded room. Go in.

If it was Castle's room, take him hostage to control him and disarm Beckett. Kill him then kill Beckett unless Beckett had her gun in hand, in that case kill her first. At this point it was strictly business. Then lie on the floor open hands toward the door. Surrender. Bargain the death penalty off the table with the offer of Volkov on a silver platter, if they were fast enough to catch him the rest would be history.

If he found Hunt, shoot him in the head twice and leave. Continue down the hall to find the next room with a guard which would be at Castle's room. While he was rehearsing, his hands had powered up the burner phone and selected the number of the trigger phone. He tapped the number and watched for a few seconds. The phone said the call was connected, then he heard a muffled explosion and a very slight tremor in the floor. He looked at the time. When the minute shifted, he'd go.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kate lost herself in the luxury of the hot water massaging her achy body. She could feel the tension loosen the muscles of her neck and back. For the moment, the hot water washed away the anxiety and worry that had been building. It was heavenly.

She didn't hear the bomb go off and didn't notice the tremor in the floor.

She laid a bead of body wash on the loofah, rubbed it into suds and lathered it all over herself, rinsed and did it again. God but it felt good. The only thing better right now would be Castle's sunken bathtub with her favorite red wine And some scented candles. She moaned with satisfaction as she felt the stress wash away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jordan Shaw heard and felt the bomb go off. She reacted instantly. She sprinted from where she was in the front lobby to the stairwell and up the stairs. A horrible fear settled deep in her chest grew at the thought that she could be too late.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The minute ticked passed, Walker took a deep breath, grunted to himself, opened the door into the hallway and glanced around the corner. The hall and all the rooms on this end beyond the nurses' station were dark. "Okay, so they were in that rotunda area next to the nurses' station," he mumbled to himself.

There was nobody at the nurses' station so he took off at a jog and ran as quietly as he could. When he reached the corner just before the the nurse's station he stopped, poked his head out, took a mental picture and pulled it back. One nurse approached the nurses' station, and one guard stood stoically outside of the room.

He waited until she was clear of the counter, shot her once in the head, pivoted, drew a bead on the wide eyed guard and fired. The bullet passed through his head and buried itself in the wall behind him. Walker was glad it hadn't gone through the door and alerted the occupants. He sprinted quickly to the door and yanked it open. Castle saw him and screamed, "Beckett! He's here!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kate's euphoria was shattered at the sound of Castle's scream, "Beckett! He's here!"

She reacted instantly, threw back the shower curtain, lunged for her gun. Her weak leg forgotten she nearly fell and caught herself on the edge of the counter, but still slammed her head on the corner of the faucet handle. Momentarily stunned by the impact her feet slipped and she almost did a split onto the floor. She recovered onto her good leg but lost valuable time. Her heart thundered in her chest. She grabbed her gun in a soapy hand, right when she heard Castle say, "Beckett! He's AGGGGHHHh." There was the sickening sound of something hitting flesh.

She fought for control, fought to overcome her fear for Castle's safety and succeeded. She felt as the gun slipped from her grip as she tried to raise it. Her feet slid on the floor and caused her to stagger, the pain from her leg slashed through her. Then as quickly as it had stunned her she was no longer aware of it. She fumbled with her left hand and managed to unlock the door. Then she grabbed the handle, gave it a twist and yanked with all her strength on the door. It ripped over the top of the toes on her left foot but she managed to turn the yank into propulsion and surged off balance through the door.

All she saw was Castle and Walker in slow motion. The blood drops spilled through the air from the gash in Castle's forehead, the loose flesh vibrated giving him a surrealistic appearance as his head reacted to the blow. She saw the flesh on Walker's vibrate back and forth from the reaction force of the blow. His gun continued to move past her. He fired a shot that missed her on her right side, penetrated the door and the nurses' station outside.

She planted her right leg. It barely held her up. She watched, with detachment, as her front sight aimed at Walker's head, but when she pressed the trigger the gun slipped and the shot went high through the window.

Her right foot slipped forward, her left foot was trapped under the door. She discovered she suddenly couldn't see out of her right eye from the blood and swelling, so she followed her training and moved to use her left eye. She watched his gun as it swung back toward her, in slow motion. She braced her other hand against the door frame, stopped her fall, then aimed her gun but she saw his gun move faster. Her gun was almost back to him when she saw the fire and the gun jumped as he fired. With both hands on her gun she was nearly fully exposed, her whole body a target. Her world jerked violently and she knew she'd been hit.

A stinging like fire erupted across her chest, then as his gun jerked a second time and an awful driving pain seared through her chest, she felt herself start to fall. Her entire being focused on Walker. Survival was no longer a priority. Kill Walker. Save Castle! The rage gave her what she needed to stiffen her body in one last survival reflex. Walker's head moved away from Castle's, he wanted to watch her die. His eyes widened for a split second but before she could take advantage of it the monitor alarm went off. Walker's head jerked right to look at it in slow motion, Castle's head was forced down in reaction. In that instant Beckett's front sight stabilized on Walker's ear, she pressed the trigger one last time and watched as blood, brains and bone fragments blew out both sides of Walker's head. The bullet entered just behind his left ear. An instant later her head hit the door frame with a crunch and streaks of light flashed through spots in both eyes. She collapsed to the floor as her left toes ripped themselves free from under the door.

She moved her eyes. The last thing she saw with the fuzzy vision that remained in her left eye was Castle's terrified face, splattered with blood. His eyes and mouth wide open. She registered that he moved, then everything went black.

****Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	25. Chapter 25

**I can't believe I'm up to chapter 25 and over 50k words. I didn't think I could write that many words for one story. I'm sorry that I haven't thanked everyone personally, but believe me when I say every review good or bad is read, and re-read. Even a negative review has something I can learn from, and positives well, I love each and every one. This is now my most reviewed story ever, would love it to reach 1k reviews but that's probably not going to happen in the amount of chapters that are left. It's ok though, I'm very happy how this has turned out and thank you all for the kind words and encouragements. You have all inspired me along the way. Thank you! I hope you continue to read now that this is AU. We aren't done yet! My Castle Hiatus Ficathon 2014 Entry!**

Shaw crashed blindly through the door. The scene was her worst possible nightmare. Gates had warned her and now Beckett's body was sprawled naked in the bathroom doorway, a golf ball sized exit wound in her back. Soap and water that had clung to her body now mixed with the blood spreading across the floor. The wound bubbled as she struggled to breathe, but she was still alive! Shaw grabbed gloves from the box against the wall and shoved her hands into them. She grabbed two more, dropped down on her knees and pulled Beckett up and held her against her chest, Kate's head bounced back against Shaw's shoulder. She pressed the gloves firmly over the gaping bullet wound, hoping it would seal her chest and keep the lung from collapsing. She added more pressure to lessen the blood flow.

Castle thrashed about frantically in an attempt to get to her. "Don't die Kate. Don't leave me. Please hold on. Not now, not like this, Beckett!" He struggled against the wires, that would never have contained him. His body too weak to propel him out of the bed, dropped back onto the bed. Pain seared through his chest as he tried to catch his breath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Espo and Ryan had been assigned the lobby when the bomb exploded. They had instinctively hoofed it up the stairs toward Castle and Beckett's room. When they reached the floor they expected to hear activity, but there was nothing. Castle's frantic screams cut through the silence. They burst out of the stairwell and tripped over the body of the dead nurse. Not far away laid the body of the dead Marshal. The rest of the floor looked empty, they were either hiding or dead.

Guns raised they approached Castle and Beckett's room. They burst into the room. Their eyes focused on Castle who struggled to remove the monitor system wires and IV tubes that tethered him to the bed. It was the sight of Beckett, naked, unconscious and with another bullet hole in her chest that knocked the breath out of both of them. The look on Shaw's face startled them into motion.

"Get help, now! She's alive!"

Ryan immediately rushed to Castle's side and tried to calm him. He was of no use to Beckett if he injured himself further. "Castle!" Ryan shouted as he grabbed Castle's face and made him look at him. "We are getting her help. You need to stay in the bed, while we get her the help she needs. She's going to need you, so sit still."

"Don't let her die. She did this to save me. That asshole shot her twice, Ryan! She was in the shower when he burst through the door. I need to help her! She can't die!"

Ryan turned and glanced at the dead body sprawled on the floor behind him. He placed two fingers on Walker's carotid artery, and didn't find a pulse. He turned back, placed both hand on Castle's chest and pushed him firmly back into the bed.

"He won't be killing anyone else, Castle. Shaw has Beckett. If we move her it might make things worse. You've got to calm down."

Espo had glanced at Beckett, turned and barked "Officer Down" and their location into his radio. He picked up the phone in the room and called for help. Then he glanced down at her again. This woman who he loved like a sister, more family than those who shared his blood, didn't deserve this. Anger ran hot through his veins and tears stung in his eyes. He finally had to close his eyes to fight off the emotions. It was not the place or the time.

While Ryan calmed Castle, Espo rummaged through Walker's pockets. He found his wallet, inside there was a magnetic room key to a motel in Washington Heights, a Russian ATM card to the bank they had traced the money to, and a subway pass. In the other pocket was a cell phone and a matchbook to a bar. "I'm going to step outside and call Gates, have her send some uniforms down to the motel. Maybe have Tory run the subway pass and phone records."

Minutes later emergency crews crashed through the door. Beckett was on the stretcher and on her way to the ER almost immediately. Shaw stood up and called for more protection. Esposito followed the gurney with Beckett on it closely, he wasn't letting her out of his sight.

Shaw peeled off the bloody gloves, dropped them, grabbed her radio mic and said, "I don't care what's going on. I need eight Agents. Four to be stationed with Detective Beckett and four here with Mr. Castle. Two in the rooms and two outside the rooms. Just do it!" She slammed the phone into her pocket.

She turned to Ryan, "You stay with Castle for now. I have to go talk to your Captain, and their parents. I want one of you with each of them at all times. Let Esposito know he is not to leave her side as soon as she is out of the OR. As soon as Beckett gets out of surgery let me know." Ryan nodded and she walked out of the room.

Castle had his head in his hands, "What have I done? This is all my fault."

"Hey! Stop that. None of this is your fault. She's a fighter, Castle. She put her life on the line for you because you are more important to her than life itself. Now you do your part, hang in there and don't give up. She loves you. She is going to pull through. Don't you dare give up on her."

Castle shook his head and looked down. "She is the strongest woman I know, but how many times can I put her in the crosshairs?"

"Man, you don't know what she was like before you came along. She was alive but not living. She lived for this job and her mom's case. That's it Castle; it was no life."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Esposito paced in the hallway just outside the operating room, his phone to his ear. When Gates picked up he said, "Captain, Beckett has been shot she's in emergency surgery..."

"I'm sorry Sir, but you can't stand there," a nurse said as she approached Espo.

"Hold on Sir," Espo growled into the phone. He turned toward the nurse. His badge and gun became visible. "I'm guarding the person in that operating room at the moment, and I'm not moving." The nurse nodded and quickly walked away.

Espo turned back to the phone and continued, "Walker somehow made it to their floor. Killed at least one nurse and one Marshal. Beckett was in the shower and came out fighting but he got at least one shot in, it hit her in the chest before she killed him. I don't know how many, but I could see the one in her chest. Ryan is guarding Castle, two Marshall's are on their way to his location. I'm outside Beckett's operating room and two Marshall's will be meeting me here. We are not leaving their sides."

"That's fine Esposito. Now where in the hell is Agent Shaw? I need to talk to her!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Volkov had been waiting for news from Walker. He currently sat at a table in a bar when the channel they had on cut into a special report from Stony Brook University Trauma Center. He dropped his fork and listened to the newscast.

This is Robert McCain reporting from Stony Brook University Trauma Center here in Suffolk County, NY. At this moment we have confirmed reports of an explosion and gunshots from inside the main hospital building. The hospital is currently in lockdown with only emergency personnel and law enforcement allowed to go in and out. We will be reporting news as we receive it."

Volkov pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and dropped more than enough money to pay his bill and walked out the door. It seemed like Walker had finally come through. Now it was time to do clean up. He took out his cell and dialed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"What the hell were you thinking, Shaw? I told you to let Beckett know what was going on!" Gates tried to keep her composure as she paced back and forth in her office. "Now we have Beckett shot again, fighting for her life, and you better hope she makes it."

"You were right. I made a bad call, but Beckett looked like hell and Walker shouldn't gotten anywhere near them. We had agents on their floor, in the basement, roof, everyplace. We've found dead agents and the number keeps growing. I have asked for an investigation as to why there was only one Marshal on their floor when five had been assigned."

"Had she known what was going on, she wouldn't be where she is now! She is one of our own and I hold you responsible for what happened." Gates had stopped, slammed both hands onto her desk, leaned forward toward Shaw And said, "You let this happen and I hold you responsible. So fix this!"

Gates strode angrily out of her office, the door forcibly closing behind her. Shaw stood motionless for a minute, then turned on her heels, opened the door and walked out of the office to the elevator.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With no outside contact other than the TV they had followed the news when it broke. Martha had immediately turned off the TV. She wanted to make sure their information came from a reliable source and not a rating hungry news hound. A half hour ago an agent had briefed them in the living room of the safe house.

Jim's world spun violently around him. The tumbler in his hand shook. The ice made tinkling sounds against the glass, his hand trembled so hard. The other hand gripped the table, as if his life depended on it, and maybe, just maybe it did. It had been ten years since the urge had been this great. His daughter, the only real family he had left was once again in surgery fighting for her life. He wanted the burn as the amber liquid slipped past his lips and down his throat. He craved the numbness that would follow. This world had taken enough from him, who would begrudge him a drink.

"She wouldn't want you to do that, Mr. Beckett. She'd want you to be strong, want you to be there when this was over. If you take that drink she'll never forgive herself. She'll blame herself. Don't let her lose you again, because I'm not sure she could handle anymore losses." Alexis walked over to Jim, took the glass from his hand and poured it down the sink. "We all need you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jackson Hunt was unconscious, his vital signs had been strong and steady. That was good enough. The CIA operation had been quick and easy. He had been scheduled for a CT scan and an MRI. Instead of being wheeled to radiology, he was wheeled quietly into the back of a waiting ambulance. Hospital staff would be told he died of a heart attack while having the MRI, but all medical records for Jackson Hunt would officially disappear. He had been wiped clean from the hospital database, his license, bank accounts, everything that ever pointed to a man called Jackson Hunt ceased to exists.

****To those who beta and help me, "You Guys Rock!" Thanks again for reading :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	26. Chapter 26

**Sorry for the delay in posting this. Life has gotten in the way, and I hit a rough spot. If you're all out there still reading thanks, and please let me know what you thought. This is my entry in the 2014 Castle Hiatus Ficathon. Thanks for reading!**

Shaw knew she had made a major mistake when she didn't warn Beckett. One that, had she been thinking clearly, she would never have made. She had many excuses, too close to the victims, exhaustion, and just being human, but they were not enough. This sat squarely on her shoulders, and if she hoped to help at all, it had to be quick. She knew that she would not come out of this one unscathed and her time was limited before the men in the hallowed halls pulled her.

She entered the 12th knowing that the reception was going to be far from warm. She walked right into Gates' office, and was not at all disappointed in Gates reaction. Gates turned anger and frustration written across her face. Shaw spoke before Gates was able to.

"There is a reason we don't work cases for people we know. I should have said no. It almost cost Castle and Beckett their lives. The people in the hallowed halls will come and pull me off this case soon, and they are right to do that, but until that moment I want to do whatever I can. I want these sons of bitches!"

Gates opened her bottom drawer, pulled out a folder and dropped it in the middle of her desk.

"CSU went over every inch of Walker's motel room last night. They found this." She pulled out an evidence bag containing a folded piece of paper with something written on it and handed it to Shaw. It has "V. Volkov is here? Where?" scribbled across it.

"We traced the money to Vladimir Volkov who is the older brother of Gregory Volkov, the man Hunt and Castle killed rescuing Alexis. Walker left Moscow four weeks ago and came straight to New York where he stole the custodians identity. One of our teams discovered the custodian's body at his home this morning. he had been dead for quite a while. Walker even opened a local bank account and we are looking into that now."

Shaw's eyes widened. "This is going to be very messy. Do we know if Volkov is in New York?"

"We checked all international flights landing at LaGuardia or JFK in the last week. He arrived three days ago and has checked into a hotel in the city."

"We have to be very careful, one mistake and it could cause an international incident between our countries. With Vladimir out there Castle and Beckett are still not safe. Ryan is with Castle, Esposito with Beckett. Each have checked in that there are also two Marshall's with them. We don't know if Vladimir knows Walker is dead. Let's make sure that piece of information is not released to the press quite yet."

"Agent Shaw, we need this wrapped up quickly. Every available man and woman at the 12th is being utilized. Neither Beckett or Castle are in any shape to be moved. The hospital is a war zone and people are starting to panic. We need to find Volkov right now!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had been in surgery for hours. To the family at the safe house it seemed like an eternity. They were trapped and restless. The TV showed numerous body bags as they were removed from the hospital, headed for the morgue. They could see the usual after the action platoon of heavily armed agents and uniforms everywhere. Yet, no one had spotted any of their loved ones.

Jim was wearing out the floor as he paced back and forth. Everyone had been keeping their eyes on him after Alexis had told her Grams what had happened. His fingers clenched tightly around his serenity prayer.

Alexis sat on the ottoman and scanned the TV for her Dad, Beckett or the boys. So far it had been fruitless, though she knew that at last check everyone was still ok. Kate was still in surgery. Castle, had been sedated and moved to another room. Ryan and Espo had been split up and were guarding her dad and Beckett.

Martha, Jenny and Lanie distracted themselves with Sarah Grace.

The phone finally rang. All eyes turned towards the agent that answered. He turned and held out the phone towards Jim. Jim stood motionless for what seemed like forever, then Martha stepped forward and guided him to the phone.

"Hello?" Jim's voice shakes with uncertainty.

"Mr. Beckett this is Dr. Hutchinson, I'm the surgeon who performed the surgery on your daughter. Your daughter was shot twice. One passed through the upper left chest just below her shoulder. The other bullet passed through the extreme left side of her chest just below her left breast. Both bullets missed her major arteries and veins but punctured her left lung. Based on my experience as a combat surgeon, the wound channel and lack of fragmentation, the type of bullets used were low velocity, and did not expand as they went through her. The care she received within seconds of being shot saved her life. She was very lucky, Mr. Beckett. She's officially in critical condition. We have her in intensive care because we want to monitor her condition very closely. We'll know more in twenty four hours, but for now, the prognosis is favorable."

"Thank you, doctor." Jim turned, handed the agents back his phone and dropped into the arm chair next to him. Tears streamed unchecked down his face. There was silence in the room as everyone waited for Jim to relay the doctors words.

After a few seconds he wiped his face with his shirt sleeve, looked up at them and said,"She's going to be ok. She was shot twice in the chest. The bullets punctured her lungs but missed the other organs, major arteries and veins. The surgeon has worked combat zones and said the type of ammunition used was low velocity and the bullets didn't expand or fragment. She's in intensive care, listed as critical. He said they will know more in twenty four hours, but for now, the prognosis is favorable."

The room exploded with the sounds of Alexis and Martha's happy voices as they hugged. Lanie and Jenny joined them. Jim didn't participate. He sat quietly, tears rolled down his face and wondered how many lives his daughter had left before her luck ran out.

\- C&amp;B -

Blood everywhere. That's all he could see when he closed his eyes. Her blood splattered against the wall and pooled around her body. Once again he had watched her get shot and again he couldn't save her. He'd been frantic, yelled her name, begged her to hold on and not die.

It had taken Ryan and a male nurse to keep him in the bed while Beckett was being worked on. The moment help arrived, Castle was given a sedative. The last thing he saw before the drug dragged him under was Beckett, naked on the gurney, two shots to her chest fighting for her life.

\- C&amp;B -

Volkov was frantic. The non-stop news reports about the massacre at the hospital didn't tell him if Walker had succeeded. He'd repeatedly called Walker on his cell but the imbecile had not answered. He needed confirmation that everything had been taken care of before he returned to Moscow. He needed to know if Walker could be dealt with now, but he could be anywhere. He knew the police had launched a massive manhunt for Walker because it was on the news so he wouldn't return to his motel. He was desperate to get to him before the police did.

****To those who beta and help me, "You Guys Rock!" Thanks again for reading, favoriting, and following. :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board!****


	27. Chapter 27

**Sorry updates have been sporadic. I promise all of you reading that this story will not be abandoned. Things have gotten in the way, and sadly I'll never be good enough to live like Castle...lol Thank you to each and every one if you that has left a review, favorited, or followed. I can't tell you how happy I am when I get FF notifications! So, from the bottom of my heart THANK YOU! This is still my 2014 Ficathon entry! I'd live to hear your thoughts on the wedding epiosde!**

It replayed in vivid detail. An endless cycle of scenes she's not certain actually happened. Blood splattered haphazardly across Castle's chest and face, as he laid frozen in bed. The expression on his face so horrific she knew it had to be his blood, though that made no sense. The scene re-played in slow motion. Walker's demonic expression as he gawked at her naked form. The burning pain that seared through her chest just before she raised her gun and blew his brains out. Then the cold darkness had crept around the edges of her consciousness. Backness consumed her and she was left with nothing but the sound of Castle's frantic screams.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Castle slept. It had taken a sedative injected into his IV to finally calm him down. A nurse had cleaned him up and moved him to another secure room. Ryan and the security team had moved along with him. As soon Beckett was cleared from ICU she would be transferred to this room.

Ryan sat and watched the steady rise and fall of Castle's chest. His mind raced with all the close calls these two had escaped, not to mention the four years of sexual tension before they got together. He knew their jobs were dangerous, that life could be snuffed out at any moment, but the last couple of years with 3XK, Bracken, the fire, Kate's botched undercover, Alexis kidnapping, Kate on a bomb, Castle almost dying in DC, the list was horrifying even to a seasoned Detective. Ryan dropped his face into his hands and wondered how many more lives they had. Jenny, Sarah Grace and the people at the12th were his family. The bond forged was stronger than any blood. He knew Beckett, Castle and Espo would always have his back and bring him home.

Castle stirred and Ryan stood by the bed.

"Castle?"

Castle's eyes blinked open. Immediately he was once again in panic mode. "Ryan? Where's Beckett? She ok? I saw him shoot her. I saw Shaw pressing into her chest!"

Ryan placed his hand on Castle's chest to keep him from sitting up. "She got out of surgery a while ago. She is in ICU but the Doctor said she has a good prognosis. She is going to be ok. You were sedated to keep you from hurting yourself trying to get to her. You're damn strong, Castle."

Then almost as if he had been reading Ryan's mind earlier Castle looked at Ryan and asked, "How many more lives does she have before I lose her, Ryan?"

They sat in silence for a while before Castle spoke again.

"Ryan, could you give me a few minutes? I'd like to call Alexis, my mother and Mr. Beckett. I want to tell them myself that I'm ok, and that Beckett has a good prognosis."

Ryan handed Castle his phone as Ryan steps just outside the room. Just before the door closed he could hear Castle reassuring his daughter.

"Hi Pumpkin. Yes, I'm fine..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been 36 hours since she had come out of the Operating Room and Espo hadn't left her side choosing instead to sleep in the chair next to her bed. The nurse opened the door, slid in, and checked Beckett's vital signs on the monitors.

"She seems to be coming out of the anesthesia, Detective. It shouldn't be long now. Once she comes out, and can breathe on her own we'll move her to the other room. The tube in her chest will be probably be removed in the next couple of days, depending on her progress."

"Thank you." Espo sat by the bed, and stared at Beckett. She was extremely pale, and she had deep circle under her eyes. Her hair was matted to her head. Multiple wires ran from under her hospital gown to their corresponding beeping monitors. The tube sucking air from the cavity around her lungs hummed beside her. He wanted to touch her, maybe hold her hand, but that had never been them. They didn't touch. He loved her like a sister, entrusted his life to her and Ryan daily, but they never touched.

He reached over and slipped his hand under hers. He felt the warmth of her fingers seep through his, and it was enough to reassure him that she would make it. He slid his hand from under hers and waited, because there are few people in his life who were worth his devotion and she's one of them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She hated coming out of anesthesia. Hated that reality slowly came into focus around her, but she had no idea what was going on. Her thoughts were jumbled, the lights were bright against her closed eyes and the sounds of the monitors around her rang loud in her ears.

Moments later her eyes blinked open. The unexpected oxygen mask startled her. Her hand reached for the mask, but then dropped to the bed.

Espo noticed the movement and stood up to talk to her.

"Espo?" He couldn't miss the broken quality to her voice, the pain behind it. "Castle?"

"He's fine, Beckett. You shot Walker before he got to him."

"I saw blood." Her voice cracked and tears slipped from her eyes. "Heard him screaming."

"He screamed because of you, Beckett. Walker shot you twice. Once just below the shoulder and once in the lower chest. You shot Walker in the head. The blood on Castle was Walker's. Castle didn't get shot."

Her eyes closed and she took a uncomfortable deep breathe. "It's not over yet, is it?"

"No, but we have every available man on this. Volkov is here in New York, and we'll get the son of a bitch."

She closed her eyes. She knew the pain she was experiencing was nothing compared to what would soon be coming. She had already gone through this, but this time, this time she wouldn't run. This time she knew that there was something to fight for.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Volkov tried to head towards the hospital. It had taken over two hours to get within three blocks of the place. He tried to get close enough to hear information from those leaving the scene. There were still many police cars and an FBI truck or two still parked in front. There was a group of policemen getting briefed to the side. He tried to approach them until he caught sight of a flyer that was being passed out to them and the nearby reporters. It was a picture of him.

He backed up slowly and tried not to call attention to himself. He turned and walked right into an officer.

"Excuse me." Volkov said as he looked down avoiding eye contact.

"No problem." The officer said as he moved toward the group.

Volkov walked away and blended into the nosey crowd around him. He headed away from the crime scene and towards the next subway stop only a block away.

The young policeman looked at the picture of the man on the flyer he had just been handed. He recognized the man right away.

"This is the guy we're looking for? He was just here. I just bumped into him not fifty feet from here. He was headed up that street."

The reaction was instant. The group dispersed and ran in the direction the rookie pointed. Volkov had just reached the intersection where the subway entrance was located, when he heard a commotion behind him. Without turning back he continued down the stairs of the subway and disappeared.

His picture was probably already plastered on the TV. He needed to get out of the country. Walker would be taken care of later. Right now he knew his life was worth nothing on American soil.

****To those who beta and help me, "You Guys Rock!" Thanks again for reading, favoriting, and following. :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board! Please come say Hi!****


	28. Chapter 28

**Thank you all for staying with this fanfic. I promise it will not be abandoned. I'm glad so many of you are still reading. Thank you for all your follows, I faves and reviews. For all who have reviewed, a special thank you. I appreciate the kind words, encouragements and even criticism. Your words keep me motivated! Please , let me know what you think. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Hope you enjoy this chapter! Still part of the Castle hiatus Ficathon!**

Chap 28

Volkov fled. He had known he couldn't go back to his hotel. So, he found his way to Chinatown where a collaboration had sprung up between the Chinese and the Russian mafia's resulted in high stake poker games. He knew he would find who he was searching for there.

Volkov's mind raced as he wandered the bustling streets of New York City. He couldn't go back to his hotel room, by now it would be swarming with police. His open ended airline ticket, money, and his passport were all in the room safe. He had to get out of the country as soon as possible.

So many people crammed together, moving in droves through narrow streets. It was probably one of the best places in the world to hide in plain view, if not for so much modern day technology. Everywhere he turned he spotted a video surveillance camera, that could be used by the police to spot him.

The collar of his dark gray, wool overcoat was turned up, his plaid scarf secured high around his neck and down turned face helped him blend into the surrounding hordes. He had gotten off the J train at the intersection of Canal and Centre Streets and walked toward the world famous street vendors. As he made his way down Canal Street he spotted himself on wide screen TV in the window of electronics store. His picture was being flashed across the screen. He wasn't a fearful man, but he could feel it ebbing through his gut and up his spine. Fear made men do irrational things, and he couldn't afford that right now. He needed to get off the streets fast before someone recognized him.

His contacts still held high stakes poker games in these parts. The sun setting around him would enable him to hide in the shadows. He blended into the crowd around him. New York disgusted him, the smells, noises and greed of this area made him nauseous.

He turned down an typical alley. An old man sat in a chair peeling onions into a large trash can in front if a open restaurant back door. He eyed the stranger as he walked toward the door at the end of the alley. Volkov rapped his knuckles against the door by an overfilled dumpster. He eyed the putrid, green, monstrosity with disgust. How people lived like this was beyond him.

Seconds later a man drew open the door and Volkov stepped inside quickly. They weren't strangers nor were they acquaintances, just men who shared a love for their mother country. Men who made sure things got done, no matter the obstacles.

"I need help. Get Rodya Kedrov for me. I have to get out of this country as fast as possible. Is he here?" Volkov spoke quickly in Russian.

The other man looked at him and then spoke, "Come in. I can get him for you. Sir, Your picture is on every news channel, we were expecting you. The police have notified the airlines, trains and bus terminals. Your escape routes have been cut off. You're a hunted man."

Volkov's eyes fixated over the shoulder of the man talking, a picture of himself flashed across the TV screen. Under the picture the scrolling text announced he was a suspect in the multiple homicides at the hospital, and should be considered armed and dangerous.

"I need a fake ID, a passport and an airline ticket to Moscow. Now!" It wasn't often that he lost control of his temper.

"That's not going to help you. Every police officer, sheriff, and federal agent has your description - there are twenty thousand people out there looking for you in addition to your picture being on TV. You shouldn't be out on the streets right now. If you go back out on the streets you will be in jail or dead within an hour."

With that the man turned and walked further into the building, leaving Volkov to his thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Chinatown?" Gates announced as she spoke into the phone. She had been updating Ryan when he remembered a case that involved the Russian mafia running illegal poker games out of Chinatown.

"Castle had gone undercover."

"Mr. Castle did what?" Gates' authoritative voice rang through the bullpen.

"Sir, it was before you were Captain. We were looking for a suspect that had ties to these poker games and the Russian Mafia. The Chinese and Russians both worked the area."

"Hold on one moment Ryan, I'm putting you on speaker. Agent Shaw is here with me."

"Ok, well we solved that case, but we noticed that the Chinese and Russians had teamed up for these roving high stakes poker games. The guys we arrested were part of the Russian Mafia. They ran an illegal gambling business, money laundering, extortion, and other criminal operations. The crux of their business, however, was a series of high-stakes poker games and gambling activities."

"So how did you find the roving game, Detective Ryan?" Shaw inquired.

"Castle. He knew someone that could get him in. We wired him and he went in and found the guy we were looking for. Beckett saved his ass at the last minute, if I remember correctly."

"Ryan, ask Mr. Castle where he got his information and see if he can find the location of one of those games again? Then call us back."

"Sure thing, Sir. He's asleep right now. As soon as he wakes up I'll get the information. How's Beckett doing?"

"That's the next call we're making. Check in with Esposito later. We'll keep you two updated with the investigation."

Ryan closed his phone and stood for a second thinking of that particular take down. Castle had been like a kid in the candy store when Beckett saved him in that outfit. He reminisced a moment longer and walked back into Castle's room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~

She gasped awake from the white pain that flared across her chest. Her eyes sprung open as she tried to focus. The mint green walls of the hospital room and all the machinery finally came into focus.

"Espo" she hissed between tightly clenched teeth.

"Press the button, Kate. I'm here, Ryan's with Castle. Guards are outside both doors. All of our families are safe. A manhunt for Volkov has been launched and it's only a matter of time. He's the man behind all of this."

Beckett inadvertently moved and Espo watched as her face contorted with pain, her breath hitched in her chest, she closed her eyes, and she tried to continue.

"Castle?" Her voice not much more than a whisper.

"He's been trying to beg, bribe or sweet talk anyone who will listen into getting you moved to his new room. He's ok, Beckett. He just needs you to get better."

She nodded and gave him a weak smile, before she closed her eyes again. Espo watched as her fingers stretched and reached for the button to dispense the morphine. A few minutes later her body succumbed to the drugs and she slipped back to into unconsciousness.

Espo sat and stared at her. He wished he could be there when they took down the jackass that did this to her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back at the safe house, the inhabitants had been notified by Gates of Castle and Beckett's progress. News that they were getting close to wrapping up the case had been welcomed. None of them knew just how close they were to seeing their loved ones again.

Alexis had walked over to Jim and had wrapped her arms around him. He had hugged her back and kissed the top of her head, like he had done millions of times with Kate.

"Everything is going to be ok, Mr. Beckett. Kate and Dad are going to be all right, and we'll have a wedding."

"I'm looking forward to that day, Alexis." He mumbles into the girls hair. He truly hopes the girl is right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ C&amp;B ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shaw and Gates were suited up. Kevlar vests with rifle plates securely fastened. The teams had been briefed. Until Castle contacted them again they were all on standby. Undercover agents and detectives had already been dispatched to Chinatown. Volkov hadn't been spotted. There were agents at Grand Central Station, LaGuardia and JFK airports as well as the regional airports. His photo had been released to the press, and government officials had been contacted. Volkov was trapped in the city.

Gates' cell rang as Shaw sat in the chair across from her in the conference.

"Ryan, was Mr. Castle able to get the information we needed?" Gates looked up at Shaw and nodded her head. She wrote the information down quickly.

"Thank Mr. Castle for us, Detective." Gates ended the call and turned to speak to Shaw.

"As luck has it there is a game tonight. Right off Canal Street. Let's brief everyone and head out. Hopefully we can end this tonight."

Both women walked out into the bullpen ready to have this wrapped up.

****To those who beta and help me, "You Guys Rock!" I couldn't do this without you. Thanks again for reading, favoriting, and following. :) Follow me on Twitter glo1196 - ****Tumblr: MyCastleObsession and on Pintrest glo11962 where I have a Castle board! Please come say Hi!****


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N I'm sorry for the horrendous delay in getting this out. Life has gotten in the way, and writers block can't even describe what I've been going through. I have to thank Garrae, Fbob and my friend Judy for the help with this. I think this is probably the 50th rewrite of this chapter. It's not my best, but not sure anymore rewrites will help. I thank anyone left reading this. I would appreciate any ideas, suggestions and thoughts on this. Only one or two chapters left. You guys have always been a great reason to write. Thank you all, and please review.**

**I don't own Castle or anything even slightly related. I just like to play with the characters.**

**Chapter 29**

Volkov and the Russian mobster had planed their escape from New York through the old labyrinth of tunnels beneath the city over a shared vodka and a Cuban cigar. In the background a TV flashed Volkov's picture across the screen. Time was important, but not of the essence. For the moment he was safe. Their location would become known sooner or later, but the real danger was the trip, so they planned their escape route with care.

They had debated the route in detail with the dingy, old map that was spread across the table. At first it had looked easy, but the devil was in the details. Focused study showed it would take time and a bit of luck to navigate the intricacies of the tunnels. A wrong turn would cost them hours they didn't have, or take them into dangerous areas of the city. Some of the tunnels below the city were so old, maps for them no longer existed. Getting lost there would definitely end badly. Beyond that the inhabitants of the tunnels themselves, man, beasts and creatures that slithered and scratched in the dark inhabited these passages. The worst of the creatures were humans with self imposed exile from the human race. They were violent and these pitch black tunnels; their home field. Unwanted and no longer useful to those above, they were better left in the dark recesses of the night.

Their route finally and carefully mapped, they equipped themselves with guns, forged documents and a flashlight, and left through a hidden panel in the kitchen. Before squeezing himself through the opening Volkov reached into a drawer and pulled out a pairing knife. Not exactly his weapon of choice, but it would have to do, then he turned and shimmied the wooden board back into its place.

It'd been years since Volkov trudged through the winding underbelly of a city, and this one wasn't any different from the others. The festering smell that filled his nostrils made him gag and his stomach revolt. The light from their flashlights gave brief glimpses of the red, beady eyed, four legged inhabitants of these tunnels. He hated the wretched, germ carrying beasts that slithered past his legs. Wet dampness crawled under his skin and made his bones ache. He knew most of it was in his head and fought it unsuccessfully. He was able to function but the fear clawed at his gut, and the flashlight beam quivered as his hand shook. They walked quickly towards their destination fighting the impulse to run, which would probably be fatal. Fear was an unwanted emotion, one Volkov rarely gave into, but feeling the noose of pursuit as it tightened around his neck was almost overpowering. He had never put himself in this kind of situation without multiple escape routes. All this risk was because he had no idea if the targets had been removed or where his contract killer was.

Getting to the docks would only the beginning; from there they would attempt to sneak him onto one of the containers ships. The Captain would be paid handsomely for his indiscretion and the journey would be rough. Where he went wouldn't matter. It was all they had, as every other means of escape had been cut off. For Volkov there were too many variables that he had little or no control over.

On the street, well above the dungeon like tunnels Volkov fought his fear in, one of the Federal Agents spotted a video store partway down Canal Street that boasted a security video monitoring system. He asked the proprietor for any videos recorded in the last few hours. He hit pay dirt on the second tape where Volkov was clearly seen entering the alleyway across from the store. Only one building had direct entry from the alley. Before long the alley was swarming with NYPD officers and Federal agents. Gates and Shaw led the way.

Volkov entered another tunnel before the first detective crashed through the door of the building. He could hardly contain his disgust when the sludge seeped into his expensive Italian shoes. To him these tunnels only reinforced American laziness and greed. All the rotten food and waste just thrown carelessly and without a care under the city. The tunnels themselves that had once been useful and then abandoned when a better system was built. Disgust and fear warred for dominance as he plodded through ankle deep sludge, his mind working furiously to create a scenario where his escape came off without a hitch.

The Russian stopped quickly at a junction causing Volkov to stumble against him.

"Why are we stopping?" he demanded as the Russian turned the beam of light at him and temporarily blinded him. Unchecked anger erupted and Volkov struck at the flashlight knocking it out of the Russian's hand.

"This intersection isn't on the map. I'm double checking that we haven't made a wrong turn." The Russian said as he recovered the flashlight and turned it toward the map again, plunging Volkov into darkness. Something heavy scurried across Volkov's shoulder and bile rose in his throat at the creature that scampered over his shoulder. Once again fear gnawed at his gut making him shudder. He needed to get away from here as soon as possible.

"We make a wrong turn and you'll miss that ship."

"I miss that ship and your body will never be found: whatever the rats don't eat will sink deep into the sludge. They'll never find you. Now get moving, we need to get there."

Volkov followed the Russian closely. He promised himself that once this business was finished he'd find a way to make sure his escort never saw the light of day again. Volkov would get out of the United States and disappear for good. He had enough cash stashed in offshore accounts around the world and just as many false identities to match them to last a lifetime. He'd always known that this day would eventually come, and he had prepared for it.

The Russian nodded toward the tunnel on the left and started towards the docks, his mind churning furiously as he tried to make sure he came out of this alive. He was sure Volkov had no intention of leaving any loose ends, and he was definitely a lose end Volkov couldn't afford.

Above ground agents scoured the building Volkov had left nearly an hour before. There was no time for them to cover their tracks other than their escape route. The table they had just sat at had the unused tunnel maps on it and two tumblers with Vodka still at the bottom. A recently smoked cigar and Volkov's tattered wallet with his Russian government ID laid open in the center of the table.

They had to find him before he got to where ever he was going.

Shaw and Gates stared at the random items left on the table. Examining the map Gates looked up quickly, a knowing look on her face. "They're headed to the docks through the underground tunnels." She pointed at the dock area on the map. "He knows we have blocked off all his other avenues of escape and he's headed for the cargo ships."

Shaw formed two teams and sent them into the tunnels with the maps left behind. At the very least, the teams would be able to stop any retreat back into the tunnels on the other end. Calling their contacts both women demanded docking and ship information on any vessels arriving, docked or leaving the port today.

While waiting for the requested information Gates and Shaw studied the maps and picked locations where they thought their targets might emerge. Gathering their teams they headed out. Their time was limited, but since this had started this was the best lead they'd had. Gates pulled out her cell and called Ryan and Esposito informing them of their progress as she hopped into her cruiser with Shaw.

Volkov felt the tension building in his gut. He knew that they couldn't be far from the docks. He needed to dispose of his companion as quickly and efficiently as possible and be able to get out of the tunnels safely without him. The cold chill of fear crept up his spine when he considered the many unknown variables ahead. He was working blindly as time had not permitted them the luxury of planning with safe guards, there is no plan B, and this wasn't at all how he worked – it was how his vanquished foes worked. That thought had him on the edge of panic.

"How much further?" he questioned angrily. His lack of patience and fear getting the best of him.

"There is a turn up ahead and, if the tunnel maps are correct, about 300 yards after that we should merge with an old subway line, with access to the current subway line right above it. From there it's up the escalator to East Broadway and North until we hit water." As soon as he finished talking the Russian realized his mistake. He'd given Volkov the way out, and there was no need for his services any longer. In a last ditch attempt the Russian turned off his flashlight pitching them into total darkness and tried to escape down the tunnel. There was a huge problem with that, in the tunnel escape options were limited. There was no place else to go and Volkov was only a couple of feet away.

Volkov gripped the knife he had hidden. He noticed the moment the Russian realized his mistake and lunged in his direction with the knife firmly in hand the moment the lights went out. The Russian hadn't moved far enough. Volkov grazed the back of the Russian's knees causing the Russian to collapse momentarily disoriented against the tunnel wall. He kicked frantically at Volkov as he tried to escape, but only hindered his attempt to get a hand on his gun. Volkov landed his body on top of the Russian's legs, took advantage of the knowledge that gave him about the orientation of the Russian and thrust his knife up under the man's ribs directly into his heart. His hand twisted and he could feel as the knife gorged the organ. The Russian was momentarily paralyzed by shod which allowed Volkov to lunge forward, grab his head and slash across his throat with such violence the man's head was nearly severed. The downside of that was Volkov was showered by the Russian's blood as it spouted and gurgled from his throat. It added another level of difficulty to his escape, but at least the Russian was dead, and he'd survived worse. Much worse.

Volkov rolled off the Russian and groped in the sludge for the flashlight. Luck was with him and he recovered both the light and the map. He took a moment to consider, moved past the Russian, took off his jacket, and then recovered the Russian's gun. There was almost no blood on his pants. He checked the tunnel map again and then turned to head for the planned exit.

**Please follow me on Twitter - Glo1196 on Tumblr - My Castle Obsession and on Pintrist- glo11962 where I have a Castle board. Thank you for reading.**


End file.
